Frequently Asked Questions

The basic requirements are as follows:
1. Possess nationality of an E2 Treaty Country
2. Investment must be substantial, committed and at risk
3. The E2 Business must be more than a marginal enterprise

Yes, your spouse and children below the age of 21 years can accompany you on your E2 Visa.

Once the E2 visa has been approved, the spouse can apply for work authorisation and work in USA. However, the dependant children cannot work in USA.

The advantages are as follows: 1. Opportunity to start a business in USA on valid status
2. Work authorisation for spouse
3. Renewals without any limit on the number of times
4. Dependant children can attend school/educational institutions
5. E2 Visa has the possibility to lead to a Green card

No, you do not need to be present physically. Our company will assist you to start your process remotely without being physically present.

No, you do not need to present physically. Our company will assist you to start your process remotely without being physically present.

Usually the E2 applications are submitted at the US Consulate of the country of residence/nationality.

Yes, your spouse or children do not need to be the same nationality as you and they can belong to a non-treaty nationality as far as your nationality is that of a treaty country.

The E2 visa requires the investment funds to be “irrevocably committed” and at risk. Therefore, the investment funds must be invested prior to the issuance of E2 visa. Example of such committed investment would include invoices, purchase receipts, purchase agreement or escrow accounts subject to E2 approval.

The requirements are as follows:
a. The applicant must have nationality of a treaty country. On the official U.S. State Department website, you can examine the list of treaty nations.
b. The treaty nation and the United States must have substantial trade, which is defined as an ongoing flow of products or services. Transaction volume, frequency, and value all affect substantiality.
c. Direct trade between the United States and the treaty country must account for more than half of all trade i.e 50% of overall trade.

The E1 visa is granted based on past and present trade. Therefore, evidence that you are currently importing or exporting goods or services to the United States will be required by the consulate. This covers invoices, bills of lading, receipts, and so forth.

The features are as follows:
a. The foreign business and the United States must "exchange" goods or services.
b. Goods and services have to move "internationally."
c. The trade needs to be "substantial" and "existing."

The volume of work at the US embassy or consulate, the application's complexity, and the applicant's nationality are some of the elements that influence how long it takes to process an E1 visa. Applicants should anticipate a processing time of 60 days on average.

Indefinite stay extensions are available to holders of an E1 visa as long as they continue to fulfill the visa's eligibility requirements. Depending on the particular treaty and the discretion of the immigration authorities, extensions are usually given in intervals of two to five years.

Yes, your dependent spouse and children (till age 21 years) can accompany you.

Yes, your spouse will receive work authorisation upon approval of E1 visa.

Depending on where the investor chooses to locate their business, different EB-5 applicants have different investment requirements. The investment criterion is $900,000 when making an investment in a Targeted Employment Area. More than $ 1 million is required for an investment in Non- Targeted Employment Area.

Processing periods for EB-5 vary by case. The expected processing time frames for different EB-5 forms at various service centers are published on the USCIS website. Once the I-526 is accepted, an investor from a nation with no visa backlogs can either apply for an EB-5 visa by filing a DS-260 or proceed with an I-485 application to change their status while in the United States. After being approved, the investor can begin to take advantage of EB-5 benefits and live and work without any limitations.

A financial institution may lend money for an EB-5 investment using the investor's assets as security. However, the EB-5 assets that the EB-5 applicant invests in cannot be used as collateral. The legal source of the money utilized to buy or acquire the assets used as loan collateral must also be demonstrated by the investor to USCIS.

Yes, when the donor can produce unambiguous proof of origin of the gift amount, the funds may be validated for EB-5 purposes.

After receiving work authorizations or becoming a conditional permanent residence, an EB-5 investor is qualified to work for any U.S. employee. The regional center through which an investment is made does not require its investors to work there. Investors or dependents should be informed that their jobs might not be used to meet the job creation requirements if they choose to work for the exact EB-5 company they invest in.

After their investment and immigration cycles are over, EB-5 investors may receive all or a portion of their funds back. The terms and conditions of these exit procedures would be included in the investment agreement or other documents in many regional centers. Additionally, during the two years of conditional permanent residency, USCIS mandates that EB-5 investors keep their investment "at risk."

A rural area or a place with a high unemployment rate is referred to as a targeted employment area (TEA). The lower investment threshold is available to EB-5 investors who invest in TEAs. Not all rural areas or areas with high unemployment rates, however, are eligible to be targeted employment areas under the EB-5 program. An investor's I-526 petition includes an adjudication regarding the designation of a TEA. In their petition, an investor must show that the project's location satisfies TEA requirements.

A foreign national who has been employed continuously abroad for at least one of the three years prior to applying for an intracompany transfer L1 visa may work as an executive, manager, or specialized knowledge employee for an overseas company's new or existing branch or subsidiary that has been established in the United States.

There are four primary prerequisites for obtaining an L1 visa:
a. The US company and the foreign company must have a qualifying relationship.
b. Before submitting the L1 petition, the worker must have worked full-time for the foreign company for at least a year in the three years prior to arriving in the US.
c. One must have held a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge position while working for the foreign company.
d. The worker must hold a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge position with the US company.

Under normal circumstances, the processing time for an L-1 visa can range from two to five months. This visa category is also eligible for premium processing which can take around 2 weeks and has a separate fee requirement.

The reason an L1 Visa is also known as a "dual intent visa" is that it allows you to apply for lawful permanent resident status for the duration of your stay. In comparison, obtaining a green card would be a violation of your status for other work visas. The requirements for the EB1C Visa category for multinational managers or executives are extremely similar to those for the L1-A visa.

This is categorized into two types: an L1A visa if the worker will be employed by the US company as a manager or executive while an L1B visa is granted if the worker will be employed by the US company as a specialized knowledge worker.

The maximum duration of an L1-A visa is three years, and it can be extended for a maximum of seven years, plus "Recapture Time," or time spent outside the United States.
L-1 B visas can only be extended for a maximum of five (5) years plus Recapture Time, with an initial period of no more than three years.

No, there is no set wage criterion for L1 visa, unlike a few other work visas. The US company would however have to follow the state and federal laws related to minimum wage.

Yes, your spouse is authorised to work once your L1 visa is approved.