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Foreign investors looking to establish a business in the U.S. may be eligible for an E-1 treaty trader, E-2 treaty investor visa, or an L-1A or L-1B visa for intracompany transferees. Both of these visa types are for temporary workers seeking to work for a qualifying U.S. company.

E-1/E-2 Treaty Trader/Treaty Investor Visas

Under an E-1 visa, the definition of a treaty trader is someone who conducts “substantial trade in goods, services, and technology” between the United States and their country of origin. Treaty investors, under the E-2 visa, invest a “substantial amount of money” to an enterprise within the U.S. Additionally, to be eligible for these visas, an applicant must fulfill the following requirements:

Be a foreign national of a country that the U.S. has a commerce treaty with;
Maintain continuous trade involving numerous transactions or invest a substantial amount of money into a legitimate U.S. enterprise; and
Meet the legal definition of an employee, manager, executive, or have special qualifications.

Applicants may seek an E-1 or E2 visa to enter the U.S. specifically to carry on trade or establish and develop investment opportunities.

L Visas for Temporary
Intracompany Transferees

L-1A and L-1B nonimmigrant visas allow managers and executives, as well as employees with specialized knowledge, to transfer to the U.S. for to work. These visas begin with a U.S. employer filing a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of the employee, manager, or executive. The employer may file to help establish a new office; transfer a manager or executive from an affiliated office located outside of the U.S.; or transfer an employee with expertise in a company’s services, products, processes, or other pertinent information regarding the company’s business dealings.

In addition, to qualify for L-1 visas, a potential transferee must:

Work at the company for one continuous year within the last three years before admittance to the U.S.
Seek entry to the U.S. on behalf of the same company or a qualifying affiliate as a manager, executive, or employee with specialized knowledge.

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

Foreign investors who make significant contributions to businesses and other commercial enterprises in the United States may be eligible for permanent residency through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (or simply the EB-5 Program). This program began in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy and promote job growth.

In addition, the EB-5 Program presents a pathway not only for foreign investors, but also their spouses, and unmarried children under 21 to achieve permanent residency. In most cases, foreign investors first become conditional permanent residents, but they can adjust their status to lawful permanent residents after two years, so long as they meet certain criteria.

EB-5 investors must meet the following conditions to qualify for lawful permanent residency:

Invest capital (cash, tangible assets, etc.) in one or more new for-profit commercial enterprises in the United States, including sole proprietorships, corporations, business trusts, LLCs, and so forth. This includes investments made through approved EB-5 regional centers.
Invest the minimum amount of capital into the U.S. commercial enterprise.
The invested capital must create at least 10 permanent full-time positions.

Equally important, invested capital cannot include any assets that were acquired unlawfully or assets that must be repaid to the investor.