American Immigration Lawyers
Khan Law, PLLC
555 Republic Drive, Floor 2, Suite 214
Plano, TX 75074
Office: (469) 200-6508
WhatsApp: (469) 200-6508
Email: info@khanlegalgroup.com
U.S. immigration law, serving clients
in all 50 states and worldwide.
Quick Links
Free Case Evaluation
Tell us your story. We’ll tell you which of these paths actually fits your life, before you spend a dollar.
The Visa Guide · Work
E-2 Treaty
Investor Visa
Invest. Direct. Renew.
For nationals of treaty countries who live in the U.S. to develop and direct a real, operating business backed by a substantial, at-risk investment. Renewable as long as the business runs.
Who Qualifies
Skin in the game.
Five things make or break an E-2 case: the treaty, the investment, the enterprise, your role, and the money trail.
Treaty nationality
An E-2 treaty country (80+, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Canada, and the U.K., notably not India or mainland China), with the business at least 50% owned by treaty nationals.
A substantial investment
Already committed and at risk. No fixed minimum: it is judged relative to the business (proportionality).
A real, operating enterprise
Not passive investment, and not marginal income for the investor alone.
The right role
You develop and direct the business as the investor, or serve as an executive, supervisor, or essential employee of the same nationality.
Clean source of funds
A clean, documented source-of-funds trail behind every dollar invested.
The Process
Five steps. One business.
Commit the investment
Purchase or form the business, sign the lease, buy equipment. Funds must be at risk, with escrow permitted for a pending visa.
Prepare the package
A credible 5-year business plan, the source-of-funds trail, ownership documents, and spending evidence.
The application
Apply at the embassy’s E-visa unit (DS-160 + DS-156E) or file Form I-129 for a change of status inside the U.S.
The interview
Visas typically issue for up to 5 years (reciprocity varies by country) with 2-year admissions, renewable indefinitely.
The horizon
Spouses get work authorization, and growth can open EB-5 or other green card doors later.
Forms & Fees
Know the paperwork.
The consular visa application, filed for the embassy interview
The treaty investor supplement, filed with the consulate’s E-visa unit
The change-of-status route for applicants already inside the U.S.
Not a treaty national?
The E-2 list covers 80+ countries but notably not India or mainland China. Confirm your country on the State Department treaty list below before building the case.
Live processing times & fees
Government numbers change monthly. These official tools are always current:
Your business.
Our fight.
Every case is different. Tell us your story. The evaluation is free, and we’ll tell you exactly which path fits.
Attorney Advertising: general information, not legal advice. Business plans and source-of-funds files are our specialty: request a free case evaluation or call (469) 200-6508. ← Back to all visa guides
The Rules
What you can and cannot do.
- Buy an existing business or a franchise: both count, purchase price and franchise fees included
- Hire whoever the business needs, from U.S. workers to treaty-national managers on their own E-2 visas
- Take a fresh two-year admission each time you return on a valid E-2 visa
- Expand, relocate, or add lines of business, keeping the consulate’s registration up to date
- Park the money in stocks, bonds, or raw land and call it an E-2 investment
- Moonlight for anyone else: your work authorization is tied to the E-2 enterprise
- Let new investors dilute treaty-national ownership below half without losing the category
- Stay past your I-94 date just because a five-year visa sits in your passport
Costs
What it costs in 2026.
The government fees are the small part of an E-2 budget: the investment itself, the lease, the equipment, and the payroll dwarf them, and no filing fee rises with the size of your investment. Consular applicants pay the E-category application fee up front and the $250 integrity fee at issuance, a 2025 budget-law creation whose promised refund still has no working process. Filing from inside the U.S. swaps those for USCIS petition fees.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application fee (MRV) | $315 per person | The E-category consular rate; covers the DS-160 and DS-156E, paid when you book the interview |
| Visa integrity fee | $250 per person | Collected when the visa is issued; adjusts with inflation; some posts add a small reciprocity fee by nationality |
| Change of status (Form I-129) | $1,015 | The USCIS route from inside the U.S.; $510 for small employers and nonprofits |
| Asylum Program Fee (with I-129) | $600 | Added to every I-129; $300 for small employers, $0 for nonprofits |
| Premium processing (Form I-907) | $2,965 | Optional 15-business-day USCIS decision on the I-129 route |
| Dependents in the U.S. (Form I-539) | $420 online / $470 paper | Extends or changes status for the family; one filing can include a spouse and children |
Fee amounts reflect published government figures as of August 2026 and change over time; the live links above are always current. Consular fees apply per person, including children.
FAQ
Questions we hear every week.
Can the investment come from a gift or a loan?
Gifts work when the giver’s money has a clean, documented source of its own. Loans are trickier: funds borrowed against your personal assets, like a home, can count, while funds borrowed against the E-2 business itself generally do not, because they are not truly at risk. The paper trail decides these cases.
How long does an E-2 case take to build?
The consular queue is only part of the calendar. Most of the time goes into the file itself: committing the funds, documenting where every dollar came from, and writing a business plan that holds up to questioning. Then each E-visa unit reviews on its own schedule, which the wait-time links above track.
My children are on E-2 visas. What happens at 21?
They age out. A child’s derivative E-2 ends at 21, so college-age kids typically move to F-1 student status or a category of their own. The earlier that switch is planned, the smoother it goes, especially around travel and school-year timing.
Does the business have to be profitable to renew?
Viability matters more than any single year’s profit. A renewal file showing real operations, payroll, and a credible path forward can survive a loss year; a shell with no activity cannot. We frame the numbers honestly and early rather than hoping nobody asks.
Can I run the business partly from abroad?
E-2 does not demand year-round presence, and many investors split their time. But develop-and-direct is a real requirement: if the consulate concludes the business runs itself without you, renewals get hard. Keep your role active and documented.
What happens if I sell the business?
The status ends with your qualifying role, so plan the exit like the entry: line up a new E-2 investment, a different status, or departure before closing. Sale proceeds can also fund the next E-2 case, and sequencing the two correctly avoids any gap in status.