E-2 Start-up Business with Low Investment

Citizenship: Pakistan
Total Expenses: $45,000 (approx.)
Total Cash Reserve: $12,000 (approx.)

Many E-2 investors ask whether a low investment is possible for the E-2 visa, and what the minimum amount might be.

While our firm generally recommends an investment range of at least $100,000 to $150,000 USD for most types of businesses, the E-2 visa law does not specify a minimum amount. Instead, it requires the investment to be "substantial".

So, if a client invests only $57,000 (well below our recommendation), the question becomes: Is this considered substantial? Let’s break it down.

The Challenge

Our client completed his entire business set-up with only ~$45,000 USD spent, leaving ~$12,000 cash for future business operations. This brought the total investment to about $57,000 USD, which was significantly below our recommended amount for building a strong E-2 application.

Since there was absolutely no way for our client to obtain any additional funds, we had to ask ourselves:

How do we convince U.S. immigration that $57,000 is "substantial," especially when even larger investments have been denied for not meeting the substantiality requirement?

Our Strategy

We focused on showing that the investment, though smaller, was “substantial” (enough) for the type of business our client was starting. In our client’s case, service-based start-ups like his typically have lower initial costs compared to businesses that rely heavily on inventory or physical assets. This was the emphasis we made.

However, if the U.S. immigration found our argument insufficient, we also guided our client in advance to fully set-up their business with qualifying business purchases and expenses to ensure the business was ready to operate.

GET ACCESS to sample list of common business expenses and activities.

These purchases were physical and tangible evidence to help demonstrate the invested funds were sufficient to get the business ready for operations and clearly showed that the funds were fully committed and dedicated to the business.

Remember, U.S. immigration isn’t interested in excuses, explanations, or arguments without credible, physical tangible proof. If all you have are words, then you essentially have nothing. Showing real, actionable steps taken toward the business is what makes an application compelling.

The Results

The client’s E-2 change of status was approved by the USCIS within 15 business days under premium (expedited) processing, with no request for additional documents. The case was approved without scrutiny of the relatively low investment, because we successfully demonstrated that every dollar had been strategically and effectively utilized to launch a fully operational business.

**While we successfully secured the E-2 status for our client, we generally do not recommend investments under $100,000. We highly recommend stronger investment amounts when submitting the E-2 application to a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.

Already inside the U.S. and considering E-2 Change of Status? Contact us to strategize your E-2 application.

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To protect our clients' privacy, names of individuals and businesses have been omitted. In some cases, we may also alter or generalize certain details to further safeguard their confidentiality.