How to Get an E2 Investor Visa Using a Real Estate-based Strategy

Here’s the transcript from Chris Jaensch’s talk with the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce about E-2 visas for investors.  Getting an E-2 visa is a good strategy for staying the United States for extended periods of time.  Enjoy the video below!

So let’s say you are an immigrant and you’ve come to Sarasota and you love it and you want to stay permanently.  At this point you should call my law firm.  We come up with different strategies that help immigrants stay in the United States for longer periods of time than a visitor visa allows.

One strategy is the E-2 Investor Visa.  In order to qualify there has to be an existing treaty between your country and the United States.  This visa allows you to spend up to 5 years in the United States and can be renewed every 5 years but you have to invest in and own a controlling interest in an active US business.  You either have to buy one that already exists or start one from scratch.  Usually $100,000 is a good amount to invest to qualify.  The business has to be active and it has to pass a marginality requirement.  In other words it has to create jobs for US workers or produce more than you as the investor and your family needs to live.  Again, the visa lasts for 5 years and can be renewed for as long as the business is active.

Just buying rental properties, unfortunately, will usually not qualify you for an E-2 visa.  But you can incorporate real estate into an existing E-2 strategy; buying commercial properties can help you qualify, so can the business of buying, renovating and selling properties.  It is up to your creativity as an investor and what you are interested in doing.