E-2 Treaty Investor Visa and Its Advantages 1 February 2018
E-2 Treaty Investor Visa, one of the several visa programs in the United States, is an alternative visa program for investors seeking to invest in the United States and obtain work permit. The investor and the investment must have some certain conditions in order to be able to obtain this visa.
There are three basic requirements that are required for the investors applying to E-2 Treaty Investor Visa;
- There must be an agreement between the country of the investor and the USA,
- The investor must establish a new company in the USA or must made an adequate investment to an existing company or is in the process of actively investing, and
- The investor should have come to the USA in order to manage and develop the invested company. This requirement can be proven by purchasing at least 51% shares of the invested company or having a senior manager position in the company.
Firstly, Turkish investors can obtain E-2 Visa under this program since there is an agreement between the USA and Turkey in the sense that mentioned above. Additionally, as the some countries where have intensive EB-5 Visa applications like China do not have an agreement with the USA in E-2 Visa manner; the citizens of those countries cannot apply to E-2 Visa. As a reason, this situation makes E-2 Visas much more attractive than EB-5 Visa for Turkish investors.
The minimum amount of investment in E-2 Visa has not been determined. Whether an adequate investment has been made is determined for each application by the characteristics of this application. However; transferring the amount of investment to a bank account is not accepted as an investment within the context of E-2 Visa. The established or invested company by the investor is required to provide job opportunities to US citizens. In other words; it must create employment. However, there is not any specified limit on the number of workers to be employed within the scope of E-2 Visa.
In order to be able to receive an E-2 Visa; the invested company must be open and in operationas well it must be in a condition of that it can make profit by providing services or selling products. This profitability condition means that the investor can earn enough money to cover the livelihoods of himself and his family. In other words, the investor must be able to take care of himself and his family.
Unlike other investor visas; there is no annual quota for the E-2 Visa. The absence of any limit on the number of annual E-2 Visas to be given by the US government is one of the advantages of the E-2 Visa.
E-2 Visa is granted for a period of maximum 2 years, but renewal is possible in two years periods as long as the conditions are maintained. Investors who have E-2 Visa are not required to live in the US. Additionally, since investors have no obligation to live in the US, only the revenues of them which are earned in the US are taxed. Therefore, investors who invest in a country other than the US will not pay tax on the profits that they earn from these investments and will not have to declare them to the US government.
The spouse of the investor who applies for the E-2 Visa and his/her children under the age of 21 can also benefit from the E-2 Visa. The spouse of the investor of E-2 may apply for a work permit after coming to the US. Children under the age of 21 of E-2 investor can go to schools in the US and receive education. However; children who are 21 years old or older than 21 years of age are required to apply for a visa regardless of their parents applying for an E-2 visa. In other words, the children of E-2 Investors who are older than 21 years of age cannot benefit from the E-2 Visa.
Since E-2 Visa is a program for investors who want to stay in the US temporarily, Green Card is not given to investor as a result of investing within the scope of E-2 visa. However; if certain conditions are met, investors with E-2 Visas can earn a Green Card and be eligible for US Citizenship in the future.
In the light of the information given above, it is possible to receive an E-2 Visa if the aforementioned conditions are fulfilled. However, the preparation of the documentation of the fulfillment of such conditions is complex and requires expertise. Therefore it would be beneficial for investors wishing to have E-2 Visas to follow the process through experienced professionals in their field.
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