Your Step-by-Step Guide to the E-2 Visa for Canada

Introduction

Frustrated as a Canadian Entrepreneur with the E-2 Visa Application Process? The E-2 visa can be a very powerful tool for Canadian entrepreneurs. The E-2 visa allows Canadian entrepreneurs to come into the U.S. on a visa to either:

1. Start a business from scratch in the U.S.
2. Purchase an existing business in the U.S.

Their family and/or pets can accompany them to the U.S. to live with them. The E-2 visa approval process can be full of variables that can cause approvals to not happen. But with the right guidance and preparation, these roadblocks can be easily overcome.

Understand the E-2 Visa: Purpose and Benefits for Canadian Investors

Canada Entrepreneurs with businesses could use the E-2 visa Canada to open up new opportunities in the U.S. Here are a few benefits for the newly found U.S. businesses of Canadian Entrepreneurs:

• Live and Work in the U.S.: The E-2 permit enables Canadian entrepreneurs to live and work in the U.S. to monitor the investment to assure it is earning more than a minimal return.
• Family Inclusion: An approved E-2 visa Canada application permits the spouse and all dependent children under 21 years of age of the principal entrepreneur to travel with the entrepreneur to the U.S. Applications for work authorization can be made by the entrepreneur’s spouse while in the U.S. on an E-2 visa Canada.
• Long-term Status: Initial E-2 visa Canada approvals are typically for 5 years but can be extended indefinitely as long as the qualifying E-2 business is operating and the permit holder continues to meet the requirements of an E-2 permit holder.
• Financial Flexibility: E-2 Treaty Investor visas for Canadian entrepreneurs do not set a minimum amount of investment in the U.S. start up for the E-2 visa. Also, the amount of investment made must be significant to the total cost of starting up the business and the amount invested must be at “risk” should the business incur a loss.

This section provides E-2 visa Canada information to the cross border entrepreneur but typically the entrepreneur of Canadian extraction establishing a new business in the U.S. needs more help and we are here to assist you.

Determine Eligibility: Key Requirements for Canadian Applicants

Are you a Canadian citizen that is looking at the possibility of starting a business in the U.S. and would like to know if you qualify to apply for an E-2 visa?

1. Nationality: In order to qualify for an E-2 visa as a Canadian citizen, the Canadian investor must hold a valid Canadian E-2 visa. This means that permanent residents of Canada, even those that are dual citizens, will not qualify for an E-2 visa under Canadian citizenship.
2. Substantial Investment: There is no specific amount required for an E-2 investment in a US business to qualify for an E-2 visa. The amount required for the new business to generate a profit to support the life of the investor and their immediate family is the key factor. Typical minimum investment required for an E-2 visa would be in the range of $80,000 to $300,000.
3. Enterprise Ownership: Under the conditions of the E-2 visa Canada required by a Canadian investor for entry into the US for the purpose of starting up his or her own business, the Investor applying for an E-2 visa Canada must be the 50%+ owner of the shares of the proposed American enterprise or he or she must be in control of the management of the proposed new U.S. business.
4. Enterprise Will Be Active By Investor: In order to apply for the E-2 visa as an investor, holder of the Canadian E-2 visa needs to indicate in his application how he will be actively managing his new venture.
5. The Business Must Be A Real Operating Enterprise: Qualifying for an E-2 visa from Canada as an investor in a start up U.S. company will require more than just money to open a new business. The start up company must be a real operating enterprise and cannot be a marginal business offering only limited income to support yourself and your family.

While about 70% of the applications by Canadian citizens for the E-2 visa Canada are easily accepted by the US immigration, it does not mean that they are approved without any scrutiny. In order to make sure that the E-2 visa application is approved without any problem, it is very important to present to the Consulate General the documentary evidence which is sufficient to illustrate the planned amount of investment and also to outline the workings of the expected business venture. In many instances a well-written business plan written by an experienced business planning writer will do a lot to assist a Canadian citizen’s application for the E-2 visa Canada in order to obtain approval from the Consulate. Finally, all applications for E-2 visa Canada will require a formal interview with a Consular officer at the US Consulate in Toronto and it is only after acceptance of the application by the Consulate officer that approval of the Canadian investor’s application for E-2 visa Canada is granted. Approval of the E-2 visa application will allow the Canadian holder of a E-2 visa Canada to freely travel to the U.S. as well as to extend his sojourn in the U.S. for long time.

Follow the Application Process: Step-by-Step Instructions for E-2 Visa

Here’s an attempt to outline out the application process to get an E2 visa Canada for starting a business in the US. I just went through this lengthy process, and it was very time-consuming. I have no doubt that every application is unique, but hopefully, this will give you a general idea of how to navigate the process to get your E2 visa Canada for yourself or your employees.

Following from your enterprise plan, you should then start to collect the rest of the E2 visa application documents. These include:

• Your cover letter
• Proof of your investment (copies of bank statements, copies of contracts, etc.)
• Copies of your business registration documents

After completing the online application form DS-160, it will ask how best USCIS can describe your application and your journey. Please make sure that all information required is accurately filled.

Schedule your interview. This can take around 4-6 weeks for Canada-based applications (2018), and you will receive a notification of your interview time after you have submitted your application online. This interview will last approximately 30 minutes and is your chance to explain your application and enterprise to a USCIS officer.

Reviewing all of the documents that support your application for the E2 visa Canada prior to your interview will be very important as the USCIS officer who interviews you will ask you to explain in detail many of the facts that were included in your enterprise documents. This officer will ask you how you obtained the funds that were used to invest in your startup enterprise and what you believe that your enterprise will do for the U.S. economy and/or in the U.S. market. He or she will also expect you to assert that your financial investment will be at risk and that you will earn income from your investment and from your operation of your business in the U.S. in order for you to qualify for the E2 visa Canada for yourself and/or for your employees.

And then hopefully your E2 visa Canada application will get approved and you will be able to start and run your own business in the U.S. Here at Global Immigration, we can help make sense of all of the steps above and take a lot of the stress out for you of going through the E2 visa Canada application process for yourself or for employees that you want to send to the U.S. to start up a new business there.

Overcome Challenges: Troubleshooting Common E-2 Visa Application Issues

How To Get An E-2 Visa Canada - The Challenges You Need To Face & Overcome During Your E-2 Visa Application Process.

1. Insufficient Funding Documentation: Most of the Funding Documentation required to support an E-2 application will consist of substantial documentation demonstrating the applicant’s ability to provide sufficient funds to not only invest in a US company but also to guarantee his/her own support while in the US as well as payment for his/her services rendered to the US company. If you are planning to apply for an E-2, it is best to start compiling all relevant documentation such as bank statements, retirement accounts, etc as well as any contracts with third parties that may contribute to your financial ability to invest in and operate a US company. It is also highly recommended that you review this documentation with an experienced immigration attorney early on to determine whether your documentation will be deemed sufficient to ensure approval of your application.
2. Marginal Commercial Concerns: The U.S. government scrutinizes aspects of the E-2 visa application process that consistently demonstrate that the enterprise is not a marginal commercial concern, since such a business would not bring benefit to the U.S. as required by the Immigration and Nationality Act. Vasquez Law Firm details the marginality test scrutinized by officers at consular interviews and outlines a clear and adequate path to creating commercial success for E-2 clients.
3. Incomplete Application Forms: Complete the forms, especially the online DS-160 application, with all required information and be prepared to supply further details to the Immigration Officer processing your application as necessary. Ensure that you take the time to fill out each section of your application correctly and check for errors prior to uploading the completed application.
4. Interview Preparation for E-2 Visa Canada Travel Document Interview: Interview preparation for the travel document interview for the E-2 visa Canada application can pose challenges to many applicants including experienced business people. Even though some questions put by officers to E-2 visa application applicants relating to their business are quite obvious, some applicants have trouble in answering them. As part of our professional service to our clients applying for E-2 visa Canada travel documents, we suggest that our clients and also other applicants for the E-2 visa prepare for possible questions that may be put to them by an officer at the interview relating to the business behind the application for the E-2 visa and the investment made by the applicant in order to start up a business in the USA and how he or she thinks the business will succeed.
5. Legal Representation: Although often the least considered aspect of the process for the E-2 visa Canada, the services provided by the experienced immigration attorneys at Vasquez Law Firm can assist in guiding their clients through the very complex E-2 process. We work with personally injured clients that have no money upfront for their case and we can work within a client’s budget using payment plans when needed. We are a bilingual law firm who speaks English and Spanish and can work with clients throughout the US and abroad. By hiring an immigration attorney you can rest assured that you are being processed through the application process in the correct manner to guarantee the approval of your application by current adjudicators and to remedy any problems that may arise during your application process.

Overcome these challenges and start your E-2 visa Canada application process with confidence and clarity by knowing the steps to follow and having the right support.

Conclusion

Are you a Canadian entrepreneur interested in starting a business in the U.S. and are overwhelmed by the E-2 Process for yourself and your family? The E-2 visa process for Canadians can be difficult to understand when going through it alone. The following is a step by step guide for Canadian entrepreneurs who are interested in starting a business in the U.S. and will explain the process for obtaining an E-2 visa for yourself and your family members.

Many categories of nonimmigrant status allow individuals of certain countries to be granted permission to enter the U.S. to work and reside for extended periods of time. For many Canadian entrepreneurs who are considering starting a new business in the U.S., the E-2 visa is one of the most popular options. Individuals and their family members can live and work in the U.S. while deriving income from a legitimate, actively-managed business. This visa category also allows approved holders to be considered for long-term residency in the U.S. as long as the initial investment qualifies for E-2 classification and is actively-managed from within the U.S. where the holder is a legal resident. Here are some key factors for Canadian entrepreneurs to understand as well as typical roadblocks and how to overcome them including:

• required investment
• required supporting documentation
• obtaining the correct USCIS officer to approve your application
• approval at a U.S. Port of Entry
• Consular approval for employees and spouses classified as approved

Proper interview preparation will also play a critical role in ensuring approval of your classification.

While many find that they are able to go through the process of obtaining an E-2 visa with the aid of a lawyer, Vasquez Law Firm is able to help guide you through the entire process of E-2 visa applications. We are able to service clients in both English and Spanish. Contact us today if you are a Canadian entrepreneur who is thinking of starting a business in the U.S. and we can see if the E-2 visa will be a good fit for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the E-2 visa for Canadian entrepreneurs?

The E-2 visa allows Canadian entrepreneurs to live and work in the U.S. to manage their investments and ensure they generate more than a minimal return.

Who can accompany the principal entrepreneur on an E-2 visa?

The spouse and all dependent children under 21 years of age of the principal entrepreneur can travel with them to the U.S. on an approved E-2 visa.

Can the spouse of an E-2 visa holder work in the U.S.?

Yes, the spouse of an E-2 visa holder can apply for work authorization while in the U.S.

How long is the initial approval for an E-2 visa, and can it be extended?

Initial E-2 visa approvals are typically for 5 years and can be extended indefinitely as long as the qualifying business is operational and the visa holder continues to meet the requirements.

Is there a minimum investment amount required for the E-2 visa?

No, the E-2 Treaty Investor visa does not set a minimum investment amount. However, the investment must be significant relative to the total cost of starting the business and must be at 'risk' in case of business losses.

What assistance is available for Canadian entrepreneurs seeking an E-2 visa?

Canadian entrepreneurs establishing a new business in the U.S. can receive assistance with the E-2 visa application process to ensure they meet all requirements.

List of Sources

1. Understand the E-2 Visa: Purpose and Benefits for Canadian Investors
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3. Follow the Application Process: Step-by-Step Instructions for E-2 Visa
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