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AILA 2009 Conference E Visas for Investors Update
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Posted on June 5, 2009 Many U.S. consuls in charge of decisions on E-1 Visas for Treaty Traders and E-2 Visas for Treaty Investors are requiring more substantive evidence of visa eligibility from applicant. Re. E-Investor Visa: A good idea is to include a letter from regional economic authority body which concentrates on the job creation aspect of the investment. Good evidence of significant economic impact may also include proof of any contractors hired by the U.S. business, purchasing significant amount of goods and services necessary for operations of the business. Marginality issue can be overcome by showing that the business generates income in excess of the amount sufficient to support the investor and his or her family. Coming to the U.S. to "Direct and Develop" the enterprise issues: Prior experience of the investor is of relevance, provide evidence of business experience, management and investments history. Another issues is passive vs. active investments. The E-2 Visa Investor should be involved in the management of the enterprise, which may require a substantial amount of time to be spent in the U.S. E-2 Investor Visa applicants should be prepared to answer consular officers' questions regarding their role in the active management of their investments. Immigration lawyers discussed their perception of bias against small business investments at the U.S. Consulates. To overcome that bias, it is useful to present a detailed business plan and show specific growth strategies as part of the plan. Again it is important to demonstrate job creation and overall economic impact on the community, especially in this economy. Sadly, even this evidence is often not enough to overcome consular bias, and immigration lawyers present joked about the best advice in small business E-2 investment cases is "Stay away from small businesses." That of course if not the best approach in this economy, where every newly created job is very important for the U.S. Another round of discussion came back to how important a good business plan is for an E-2 Visa application. The golden standard for business Investor business plans has been laid out in the Matter of Hope case. E-2 Investor Visa Consular Processing Times for initial determination of E-visa eligibility were reported by lawyers as follows: Toronto 4-6 weeks Vancouver 6-10 weeks London 4-10 weeks Frankfurt 1-3 weeks Amsterdam 16 weeks Brussels 2-3 weeks |