E-2 Visa Attorney in Miami

E-2 Visa Eligibility: What the Government Requires

The E-2 Treaty Investor Visa isn’t a one-size-fits-all benefit. Immigration authorities examine your nationality, your investment, and your business against a specific set of criteria before approving status.

Core requirements include:

• Treaty-country nationality: You must be a national of a country that maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States.
• Substantial, at-risk capital: There is no statutory minimum dollar amount, but the investment must be substantial relative to the cost of the business type. Funds must be genuinely at risk and irrevocably committed to the enterprise. Uncommitted cash sitting in a personal account or loans secured only by the business’s own assets don’t count.
• Majority ownership or operational control: You must hold at least 50% ownership and actively direct or develop the enterprise.
• Bona Fide, Non-Marginal Business: The business must be a real operating enterprise generating revenue and, typically, jobs. Its profits must exceed what is simply needed to support your own lifestyle. Passive investments such as stocks or undeveloped property don’t qualify.

Family Members & Essential Employees

An approved E-2 petition can extend to the people who matter most to your household and your business.

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 may accompany you and reside in the U.S. for the duration of your status. Your spouse is employment authorized incident to that status, so no separate Employment Authorization Document is required. Your children can attend public or private school without a separate student visa, though they aren’t authorized to work.

Essential employees who share your treaty-country nationality may also obtain E-2 status to fill executive, supervisory, or essential-skill positions within the enterprise. This is a frequently overlooked benefit that allows growing companies to bring experienced staff from their home country into U.S. operations.

Why Miami Investors Work with Revilla Law Firm, P.A.

An E-2 petition rises or falls on evidence. Adjudicators scrutinize the lawful source of your investment funds, the credibility of your business plan, the genuineness of the enterprise, and the commercial viability of the investment. Antonio G. Revilla III spent years as a U.S. Immigration Prosecutor evaluating exactly this kind of evidence. That perspective now works in your favor: we anticipate the questions an adjudicator may ask and address them before the petition is filed.

We’re known throughout the legal community for taking on difficult immigration matters, including cases referred by other attorneys who need a team capable of handling complex filings. We also participate directly in immigration legislative advocacy and reform, which means we understand how policy priorities shape the way authorities evaluate investor petitions. That knowledge informs how we frame and document every E-2 case we prepare.