Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in E2 Investor Visas

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interview-4783433_1280On February 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced new changes to the Visa Interview Waiver program, further adding to the unpredictability of the Trump administration.

Among these changes, the State Department has limited the categories of non-immigrants who are eligible to receive waivers of the in-person interview requirement.

Moving forward only the following individuals may qualify:

  • Applicants classifiable under the visa symbols A-1, A-2, C-3 (except attendants, servants, or personal employees of accredited officials), G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, or TECRO E-1;
  • Applicants for diplomatic- or official-type visas; and
  • Applicants who previously held a visa in the same category that expired less than 12 months prior to the new application

Additionally, those seeking interview waivers must also meet the following requirements:

  • apply in their country of nationality or residence
  • have never been refused a visa (unless such refusal was overcome or waived); and
  • have no apparent or potential ineligibility.

Previously, non-immigrant visa applicants applying for visa renewals in the same visa category could seek an interview waiver if their visa was expiring within 48 months. The Trump administration has now cut this time to just 12 months.

This means that renewal applicants with visas that expired past the 12-month window will be required to attend in-person interviews at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy.

These visa restrictions along with Trump’s recent executive order requesting Consulates to fire visa officers and local employees, means that wait times for visa appointments will drastically increase, especially in countries already facing severe backlogs.

The State Department has said that visa renewal applicants who qualify for an interview waiver based on the previously stated guidelines may still be required to attend an in-person interview by the Consulate. This is because the interview waiver process is discretionary. It is never guaranteed.

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portugal-1355102_1280As of April 23, 2024, Portugal has joined the coveted list of countries eligible to participate in the E-2 Treaty Investor program via the passage of the Advancing Mutual Interests and Growing Our Success (AMIGOS) Act.

E-2 nonimmigrant visas are reserved for investors who are nationals of a treaty country. To qualify, an investment must be made into a U.S. company, the investor must hold at least 50% of the ownership interests, and the company must meet the E-2 visa requirements.

The E-2 visa is a very popular visa because there is no limit to the number of times the visa can be renewed, and it allows the company to sponsor other nationals of the treaty country as employees.

The addition of Portugal to the E-2 visa program presents a unique opportunity for Portuguese entrepreneurs to establish and grow their own businesses in the United States, while giving spousal dependents the opportunity to work for any employer in the United States.

It also presents an exciting opportunity for Brazilians who hold dual nationality with Portugal to participate in the program, as well as those who can obtain Portuguese citizenship through ancestry, legal residence, or by other lawful means.

Key Benefits of the E-2 visa program for Portuguese nationals

  • By law, the E-2 visa does not require any minimum investment amount and instead focuses on whether the investment is proportional based on the nature of the business. In most cases, entrepreneurs invest anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 in their businesses.
  • E-2 treaty investor visas for Portuguese nationals are valid for five years and can be renewed indefinitely so long as the E-2 eligibility criteria are met.
  • Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 can apply for E-2 dependent visas to accompany the E-2 principal investor in the United States. Spouses are eligible for work authorization and can work for any employer in the United States.
  • Processing times for an E-2 visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon can vary, but applicants can generally expect to be called for an interview approximately three months after submitting their application.  Upon approval, visas are typically issued within three to five business days.
  • Brazilians who hold dual nationality with Portugal can apply for the E-2 visa at the U.S. Consulate in Sao Paulo, the designated adjudicating post in Brazil for E-2 Treaty Country nationals.

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people-4417185_1280Recently the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new changes to the International Entrepreneur Rule effective October 1, 2024.

What is the International Entrepreneur Rule

The International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), was first established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2017.

The program allows noncitizen entrepreneurs to live and work in the United States temporarily, if they can demonstrate that their businesses will provide a significant public benefit to the United States via economic benefits and job creation.

Those granted parole under the program are eligible to work for their startup companies for an initial period of 2 ½ years, and their dependents can accompany them to the United States.

The current requirements of the International Entrepreneur parole program are as follows:

  • Entrepreneurs already in the United States and those residing overseas are eligible to apply
  • Start-up entities must have been formed in the United States within the past five years
  • Start-up entities must demonstrate substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation by showing at least $264,147 in qualified investments from qualifying investors, at least $105,659 in qualified government awards or grants, or alternative evidence
  • The spouse of the entrepreneur may apply for employment authorization after being paroled into the United States
  • The entrepreneur may be granted an initial parole period of up to 2½ years. If approved for re-parole, based on additional benchmarks in funding, job creation, or revenue described below, the entrepreneur may receive up to another 2½ years, for a maximum of 5 years under the program

New Increases to Qualifying Investment Amounts

  • Initial Applications: Starting October 1st to demonstrate the businesses’ potential for growth and job creation, initial applicants will need to show at least $311,071 in qualified investments from qualifying investors, at least $124,429 in qualified government awards or grants, or, if only partially meeting the threshold investment or award criteria, alternative evidence of the start-up entity’s substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation.
  • Re-parole Applications: For those applying for a second period of authorized stay, the entrepreneur must demonstrate that the start-up entity has either:
    • Received a qualified investment, qualified government grants or awards, or a combination of such funding, of at least $622,142(currently $528,293);
    • Created at least five qualified jobs; or
    • Reached annual revenue in the United States of at least $622,142 (currently $528,293) and averaged at least 20% in annual revenue growth.

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As the new year approaches, we have some unfortunate news to report for certain employment-based applicants who may wish to file their petitions with premium processing service in 2024, including those filing:

  • Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
  • Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, as well as
  • Certain applicants filing Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization and
  • I-539 Application to Extend or Change Nonimmigrant Status with USCIS.

On December 28, 2023, USCIS published a final rule in the Federal Register that will increase the filing fee for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, to adjust for inflation.

The final rule states that starting February 26, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will increase the premium processing fees USCIS charges for all eligible forms and categories to reflect the amount of inflation from June 2021 through June 2023 according to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

Please note that not all petitions are eligible to request premium processing service. Applicants may only request premium processing if USCIS has specifically designated your classification as one that is eligible for premium processing service. To determine whether premium processing is available for your benefit request please review the USCIS webpage.

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It’s a brand-new week full of important updates from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This time for employment authorization documents (EADs).

Recently, USCIS announced that certain applicants who have filed to renew their employment authorization cards (EADs) on Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, may qualify for an automatic extension of their expiring employment authorization and/or employment authorization documents (EADs) while their renewal applications are pending with USCIS.

Beginning October 27, 2023, those who are eligible will receive 180-day automatic extensions of their EADs, including those who have applied for or have received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or asylum.

Previously, USCIS had passed a regulation that increased the automatic extension period for certain EAD applicants from 180 days to 540 days. This announcement will not impact EADs that were already issued for up to the 540-day period. Those extensions will remain in place. For such individuals, the increased automatic extension will end when they receive a final decision on their renewal application or when the “up to 540-day period” expires (counted from the expiration date of the employment authorization and/or their EAD), whichever comes earlier.

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In this blog post, we share with you an important update from the U.S. Embassy in Israel.

If you have a pending nonimmigrant or immigrant visa application awaiting an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, you should be aware that visa services have been temporarily suspended at these missions due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

The U.S. Embassy in Israel will be focusing its resources to plan the evacuation and departure of U.S. Citizens from the region.

Starting October 13th, the government arranged charter flights to assist U.S. Citizens and their immediate family members to depart Israel.

U.S. citizens in need of assistance must complete the crisis intake form here.

Applying for a Nonimmigrant Visa at a Neighboring U.S. Consulate or Embassy

If you have an urgent need to travel to the United States and do not currently have a nonimmigrant visa, you may apply for your visa at another U.S. Embassy or Consulate other than Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

You must contact the nonimmigrant visa unit at the neighboring Embassy or Consulate to determine whether they will accept your application as a third-country national.

The U.S. Consulates in Canada allow third-country nationals to apply for visas including Israelis. Alternatively, please check with the specific Consulate regarding their instructions for requesting expedited interview appointments for emergency travel. In most cases, once you have submitted your DS-160 online nonimmigrant visa application and paid the necessary visa fees on the U.S. Department of State Visa Appointment Services webpage, you may request an expedited appointment. More information about expedites can be found on the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ portion of each country webpage by navigating to the bottom of the DOS Visa Appointment Service and selecting “Answers to Common Questions.”

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Certain types of nonimmigrants will be expected to shell out more money for the nonimmigrant visa process.

The State Department has announced that starting June 17, 2023, nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application processing fees for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based nonimmigrant visas such as student and exchange visitor visas (F, M, and J visas), will increase from $160 to $185.

Additionally, processing fees for certain petition-based nonimmigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190 to $205.

Fees for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (nonimmigrant E category) visa will also increase from $205 to $315.

What if I pay my nonimmigrant visa fee prior to June 17, 2023?

In this case you are in luck. Nonimmigrant visa fees paid prior to June 17, 2023, will remain valid through the expiration date on your nonimmigrant visa fee payment receipt.

Why the increase?

The Department of State has said that nonimmigrant visa fees are set based on the actual cost of providing nonimmigrant visa services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of these services.

The agency uses Activity-Based Costing (ABC) methodology to calculate, annually, the cost of providing consular services, including visa services.

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The Department of State raised eyebrows earlier this month when it released information that it will be reducing the waiting period for 221(G) “administrative processing,” in an effort to process visas more efficiently.

While this is welcome news, in practice it may not mean much. Consulates and Embassies have been notoriously secretive when it comes to 221(G) administrative processing and do not reveal the reason for a visa applicant being placed in administrative processing in the first place, nor the type of security checks that are being conducted.

What is 221(G) Administrative Processing?

First, let’s explain what administrative processing is. When an applicant visits a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas for their visa interview, there are only two possible outcomes that can occur at the conclusion of their interview. The Consular Officer may choose to either issue or “refuse” the visa. A refusal is not the same as a denial. It simply means that the visa applicant has not established his or her eligibility for the visa they are seeking for the time being, and the Consulate needs additional time or requires further information either from the visa applicant or another source to determine the applicant’s eligibility for the visa.

In most cases, visa applicants who have been “refused” will require further administrative processing.

How will I know if I have been placed in 221(G) administrative processing?

Visa applicants placed in administrative processing are often given what is called a “Notice of 221(G) Refusal” at the conclusion of their interview, which states that the visa application has been “refused” under section 221(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Notice should indicate whether additional administrative processing is required for your case, and whether any further action is required on your part, such as providing additional documentation or further information to process your visa.

However, in some cases visa applicants are not given such a Notice and will later discover that they have been placed in 221(G) administrative processing upon checking their visa status on the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) visa status check webpage.

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Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this blog post we share with you some breaking news regarding the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for non-immigrant international travelers.

On May 4, 2023, the State Department announced that the Biden administration will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, 2023, which marks the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency.

After this date, beginning May 12, noncitizen nonimmigrant air passengers will no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to board a flight to the United States.

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security has released its own statement announcing that the COVID-19 vaccine requirement will also end for non-U.S. citizen travelers seeking entry through land parts of entry and ferries as indicated below:

Beginning May 12, 2023, DHS will no longer require non-U.S. travelers entering the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination upon request. DHS intends to rescind these Title 19 travel restrictions in alignment with the end of the Public Health Emergency and the termination of the Presidential Proclamation on air travel.

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We have good news for applicants filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, requesting an extension of stay in or change of status to H-4, L-2, or E nonimmigrant status.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it has extended the temporary suspension of the biometrics submission requirement for this group of applicants.

Previously, USCIS had suspended the biometrics requirement until May 17, 2023. With today’s announcement, the suspension of biometrics will continue through September 30, 2023, for H-4, L-2, and E nonimmigrants.

USCIS will allow adjudications for these specific categories to proceed based on biographic information and related background checks, without the normal requirement of capturing fingerprints and a photograph. However, the agency will retain its discretion to require biometrics for any applicant on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, certain applicants may still be scheduled to attend a biometrics appointment at a local application support center (ASC).

USCIS reminds Form I-539 applicants meeting the biometrics suspension criteria, that they do not need to submit the $85 biometric services fee for Form I-539 during the suspension period.

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