E2 Visa: Can a Service-Based Business Work?

Are you ready to start or buy a service-based business? For those of you interested, this article will break down how to work through the requirements of the E-2 Visa when your plan is to run a service-based business. We also want to give you examples of some clients we’ve helped who were approved and the different types of service-based businesses that they are now running.

Almost any business will work for the E-2 Visa

The first important note: almost any business will work for the E2 Visa as long as you and the business meet those visa requirements. This means we need to show a substantial investment into a U.S. business. In addition, we need to show that you’re from a treaty country and that you’re going to be able to direct and develop this business.

We also need to show that the business isn’t marginal, which means that you will be hiring employees and paying yourself. You will also need to show that the business is real and operating. This business cannot be a speculative or passive investment: it must be a real and operating business.

What is a substantial investment in a Service-based E-2 business?

So, what is a substantial investment for a service-based business? You will likely need to spend a minimum of $100,000 USD on the U.S. entity before you apply for the E2 visa. This does not mean having $100,000 USD in a U.S bank account. Investing, when speaking about the E2 visa, means that you must show at least $100,000 worth of receipts.

You may be wondering how to spend that kind of money on a service-based business. It is possible! Our general firm policy is that every applicant spends at least $100,000 USD, so many people have done it. (See the list of E2 visa applicants, below – they did it!) You can too.

The great news is that you will be the person who decides what to spend your money on. We will give you suggestions and examples of expenses that may work. But you are the ultimate decision maker when it comes to how the money is spent.

Many people also ask about the marginality piece – they want to know how many employees are needed at the time of application. Our firm recommends that you have at least one part-time employee in order to have the best chance of approval.

The great news is that nearly all service-based businesses will fit all of those requirements as long as you get the right documentation, which is what we’re here to do! We will guide you through the E2 visa requirements and all of the documentation needed in order to best show that you and the business meet the E2 visa requirements.

So what type of service-based businesses have been able to successfully get the E2 visa? Let’s take a quick look at the list of some of our recent approvals.

• Armenian applicant with an engineering consulting company in California
• Jordanian applicant with a tutoring and after school program business in Texas
• German client with a cleaning company in North Carolina
• Australian client with an I.T Staffing and Consulting in Virginia
• Canadian client running a marketing and lead generation in Florida
• Canadian client running a construction company in Texas
• Canadian applicant with a car warranty company in Arizona
• Finnish client running a professional hockey agency in Arizona
• Australian clients operating a talent agency here in Southern California
• Canadians with a trucking company in California

This is just a small sample of service-based businesses we have helped through the E2 visa process.

There are more consulting companies that we’ve helped as well; so, give us a call and tell us about the business idea that you have to get your E2 Visa. We’d be thrilled to give you some idea of how you might be able to meet all of those E-2 Visa requirements.