The e2 treaty visa is 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. Here’s the whole e2 visa guide, in plain English.
Treaty countries qualify, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Canada, and the U.K.
Visas typically issue, reciprocity varying by country, with 2-year admissions renewable indefinitely.
Of the business must be owned by treaty nationals, with the investment committed and at risk.
Five things make or break an E-2 case: the treaty, the investment, the enterprise, your role, and the money trail. These e-2 visa requirements and e2 visa eligibility rules decide it.
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.
Awards, press about you, judging others' work, original contributions of major significance, scholarly articles, critical roles for distinguished organizations, and high remuneration.
Not passive investment, and not marginal income for the investor alone.
You develop and direct the business as the investor, or serve as an executive, supervisor, or essential employee of the same nationality.
A clean, documented source-of-funds trail behind every dollar invested.
The e2 visa process runs the same five steps for every treaty investor.
Purchase or form the business, sign the lease, buy equipment. Funds must be at risk, with escrow permitted for a pending visa.
A credible 5-year business plan, the source-of-funds trail, ownership documents, and spending evidence.
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.
Visas typically issue for up to 5 years (reciprocity varies by country) with 2-year admissions, renewable indefinitely.
Spouses get work authorization, and growth can open EB-5 or other green card doors later.
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.
The E-2 list covers 80+ countries but notably not India or mainland China, and the e visa rules turn on treaty nationality. Confirm your country on the State Department treaty list below before building the case.
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 | Fee | 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 |
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.
The consular queue is only part of the calendar for an e2 visa usa case. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Every case is different. Tell us your story. The evaluation is free, and our e2 visa lawyer team tells you exactly which path fits.
