Hi, everybody. In this video, we'll talk about the E2 visa, Investor visa,
some changes that are happening in 2020, how to apply for the E2 visa you recovered,
and also, future legislation that will impact the E2 visa and maybe open a path for green
cards for these investors. So, what are you waiting for? I'll see you on the other side.
Hi, everybody, and welcome to another video channel. In this video, we'll specifically
talk about the E2 visa, the investor visa, how to apply for this visa, what are the requirements and
specific changes, things to look for when you apply for this visa now during this COVID
situation where embassies are closed, and there's so many, so many restrictions for people to come
to the United States. Before we talk about that, if you’re here for the first time, make sure to
subscribe to our channel. Click that bell to be notified so you don't miss any of our videos. We
produce videos every single week. And also, give us a big like so YouTube will be able to show this
video to more people just like you. My name is Jacob Sapochnik. And I'm an immigration attorney
located in San Diego, California, and I help investors and clients who are looking to start
companies in the United States from all over the US and people who come here from all over the
world. So, let's talk about the E2 visa. The E2 visa is a perfect visa classification for those
immigrants that specifically want to come to the United States and start a business. The visa is
available for immigrants who are interested to come to the United States, live, and work,
but specifically starting their own business. It's currently the perfect entrepreneur startup
visa that is available for immigrants looking to invest and start a small business. So,
let's look at some of the requirements that you need to be able to get this E2 visa. Number one,
you have to be a national of a treaty country. So, they're on the State Department, we can
link in the description of this video, a link to the State Department and they have a list of all
the countries that are part of a treaty with the United States to be able to apply for the visa.
Some of these countries could be Mexico, Canada, a lot of the European countries, Japan, Australia,
and many, many other countries. But it's important to know before you try to apply for an E2 visa,
make sure you check that your country is actually on the list. The second requirement is that you
must have invested or in the process of investing in a business. What does that mean? It means
that you have to show that you have control of your money, That money actually came from your…
maybe either savings or you sold a house or you got a gift. Whatever that is, you have to show
the source of the funds. Also, the funds that you… once you’d be able to share the source of the
funds, that money has to be at risk. What does it mean? It means that you actually have to invest,
either you start a business or you buy a business. You actually have to take a step forward. And as
you go forward with the investment, so either you will purchase something or if you're starting a
new business, you will spend some of the money that you brought to buy equipment or hire people.
But you have to do something to show that the money that you brought is going to be at risk by
using it. Also, it is important that you actually have to start the business. You cannot just tell
the government that you will do something in the future, you actually have to start a business. So,
whether you are going to sign the lease, or actually hire employees, or whatever that is,
those actions must be taken before you actually apply for the visa. And that's a really important
point to understand, you also have to be in a position to direct the business
with your skill. So, it means that you cannot be a passive investor, you have
to show to the government that you're going to be involved in the business, either you will be
the owner or the manager. And we have to show that you know, you sign the documents,
the investor has to be physically involved. It cannot be just a passive income
or passive investment. Also, it is important to show that you have some experience to run the
business. So for example, if you're going to start a restaurant, and you have no cooking experience,
maybe you can show that you have management experience. That's how you can show that you're
actually able to run a business like that. But whatever that is, you have to tie your expertise
and skills to be able to actually get the visa. When we say, “a substantial amount” there is no
specific amount defined by law. In our experience, we have had cases that got an E2 visa with as
little as $20,000. And of course, the amounts can go up to millions. The key is that you have
to show how this money is invested. The idea is that the amount of money depends on the kind
of business that you do. It depends on the state where you're going to be setting up your business.
There are so many factors; therefore, the government does not give a set amount. It has to
be a reasonable amount depending on the business that you do. So, for example, if you’re starting
an accounting business, you may need less money than if you start a restaurant. So again,
it has to be reasonable. But what is more important is that you cannot just have money
sitting in a bank account, it has to be money that is used for the purpose of the business.
And that's really important. When you're applying for the E2 visa, it is very important to show the
source of your funds. So, for example, if you're getting funds from a gift, or from investment,
or from an inheritance, whatever that is, it is really important to document the source of your
funds before you're able to able to bring these funds to the United States because if the source
of the fund is not something we can trace, then we're not able to use that as a legitimate source,
and most likely the visa will be denied. So, be very careful and make sure you have clear records
as to where the funds were obtained and how you obtain those funds. Another requirement that E2
is the business cannot be marginal. But what does that mean? That means that the business
cannot only provide income for you and your family, there has to be something more than that.
And the reason that the government does that is because I want to make sure that investors
are going to be able not only to sustain themselves but will have some sort of a future
for their business. Otherwise, it could become a public charge on the US government and they're not
excited about it at all. So, how do you show the government that your business is not going to be
marginal? Typically, we do a five-year business plan, we're going to show how the business is
going to grow, how many employees are going to be hired, and what is the potential of this business.
And this is one of the best ways to show that the business is not going to be marginal. So,
once again, these are some of the basic elements of an E2 visa. We have to make sure that you’re
part of a treaty, we make sure that you have to document the source of the funds, the investment
has to be substantial depending on the kind of the business. And of course, the business
cannot be marginal. You have to prove to the US government, that you have a long term plan, at
least a five-year business plan for your business. So, what's happening right now with E2 visas? So,
right now, as you know, a lot of the embassies are closed and are not issuing visas on a regular
basis. There are so many immigrants that are not able to enter the United States as visitors
and many other visas. In fact, we have the proclamations, we have the travel bans. And
it's just creating a lot of issues for business people that are interested to come and invest in
the United States. But the good news is that there are certain exceptions. The good news is that the
exceptions to these proclamations and the travel bans is that if the entry of the immigrant is
in the national interest of the United States, then there could be an exception. And the E2 visa
is a perfect example of that. This is a visa that creates jobs, the investors are bringing funding
and funds to the United States. And so, it's much easier to show that an entry of an E2 investor is
in the national interest of the United States. And if you remember, at the beginning of the video,
I mentioned the requirements that the visa cannot be marginal, and the business plan and all the
things that we need to show, these are the perfect tools for us to use when we apply for the national
interest exception. We'll use the business plan and all the other things that E2 visa investor is
doing to allow them to get an exception and enter the United States quickly without being subject
to any of these restrictions, and being able to get an appointment on a priority basis as well.
There are many embassies that already are resuming the appointments for E2 visa applicants
without the need for any exception. But for those embassies that are subject to the bands, and then,
are willing to open appointments, it is very possible to request that exception because you're
applying for an E2 visa. And it's really important to remember that another exciting thing with the
E2 visa is we hope in the next several months, the E2 Visa Improvement Act that was introduced
last year will finally go back and advance into law somehow. The E2 visa Improvement Act includes
two provisions. One provision which will allow E2 visa holders who have been in the US for 10
years or more to apply for their green card and eventually citizenship. And the other
provision is to allow for work authorization for children of E2 visa dependents who currently
are not allowed to get there and to extend their dependency status until the age of 26. Right now,
it's limited to 21. So, we hope that this bill is going to go back and come back and,
hopefully, be introduced again and become law sometime next year. We'll see. But we're hoping
that these changes are definitely going to come. They're much needed. Because a lot of investors
who have been here for so many years are looking for a path for a green card. And this legislation
will not only encourage more people to use the E2 visa, but they're also going to see the end,
the future with the E2 converted to a green card which is something that currently is not in place.
And finally, we definitely see more and more people applying for the visa since, now, the EB5
increased to almost a million dollars. A lot of investors who are not able to invest that
much money are choosing the E2 visa as another option to live and work in the United States. So,
once again, if you’re an investor and you’re a national of one of the treaty countries with
the United States for an investor visa, now is a perfect time to apply for an E2 visa.
Landlords are looking for new tenants, leases are cheap, interest rates are super low,
and this is a perfect time to find yourself a location and business and start your American
dream in the United States. Right now, if you have any questions about the E2 visa,
make sure you post them in the comments here. And if you're here for the first time, make sure you
subscribe to our channel. Click this bell to be notified so you won't miss any of our videos.
Once again, thank you for watching, and I look forward to seeing you in our next video.