{"id":4566,"date":"2016-06-13T11:37:04","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T15:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=4566"},"modified":"2020-06-02T02:15:35","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T06:15:35","slug":"e-2-visa-for-treaty-investors-with-tax-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/e-2-visa-for-treaty-investors-with-tax-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"E-2 Visa for Treaty Investors with Tax Holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article I will show you how to get an United States E-2 visa for treaty investors and a 20 year tax holiday. That\u2019s right, this is how to get the benefits of residency in the US with an E-2 visa for business owners and pay zero tax<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s review the E-2 visa program and compare it to it\u2019s big brother, the US EB-5 investor visa.<\/p>\n

The E-2 treaty investor visa is a temporary residence permit that allows you to live in the United States as long as you are operating the business described in your application. This may be for a few years or a few decades\u2026 however long you want to keep the business going and the requisite number of Americans employed.<\/p>\n

Only citizens of countries that have a treaty with the US may apply for an E-2 treaty investor visa. For a complete list, see the US State Department website<\/a>. You will be surprised to see how long the list is\u2026 and that it includes many countries you would have guessed were excluded.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no specific number of workers you must employe in an E-2 visa business. You should have \u201ca reasonable number\u201d of employees in addition to yourself and your family. What\u2019s reasonable will depend on the type of business and on the caseworker assigned to your E-2 visa application.<\/p>\n

In my experience, 5 employees, including yourself, is a good number. This has always passed the auditor and been approved.<\/p>\n

Likewise, there is no minimum investment amount required for the E-2 visa program. I\u2019ve seen some approved with as little as $50,000. Most clients invest about $250,000.<\/p>\n

However, the higher the investment amount, the more confident the auditor will be in your application. You must fund the business with enough cash to get it started and for it to become profitable. So long as your business plan and financials make sense, your E-2 investor visa should be approved<\/u>.<\/p>\n

The E-2 visa is for active business operators \/ owners. It is not for passive investors. If you want to invest in a business and receive a visa managing the day to day activities and employees, then you need the EB-5 investor visa. If you want to build a successful business in the US from the ground up, and be the person running the operating, you may apply for\u00a0 the E-2 investor visa.<\/p>\n

This also means that you can only work for the E-2 visa business you created. You will not receive a typical work visa and may not be employed by someone else while in America on the E-2 investor visa.<\/p>\n

Your children and spouse can also move to the US on your E-2 investor visa. Your wife is allowed to work for another company – he or she is not required to work in the E-2 business. Your children are allowed to go to school but may not work\u00a0 for any business, including yours.<\/p>\n

An E-2 visa can be processed in as little as 1 month. 60 to 90 days is common and your processing time will depend on where you are immigrating from. If you are applying for an E-2 investor visa from the UK, France, Canada, or any other top tier country where performing a background check is simple, your visa will be approved quickly. If you are moving from a country where it is difficult to review your history or prove that your money is \u201cclean,\u201d then your application will take longer.<\/p>\n

Allow me to briefly compare the E-2 investor visa to the EB-5 investor visa.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve said, the EB-5 visa is the big brother of the E-2 investor visa. With the the E-2 visa, you get to live in the United States so long as you operate the business. There is no path to permanent residency, a green card or citizenship. With the EB-5 visa, you and your family get green cards immediately and citizenship in 5 years.<\/p>\n

Because of the high demand for the EB-5, and because it allows you to avoid the quotas, lotteries, and cut the line, US immigration does a lot of digging before granting an EB-5 investor visa. Typical processing time is 12 to 18 months compared to 60 days for the E-2 visa.<\/p>\n