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How do I show Control for an E-2 visa? Do I have to own 51% of a company to get an E-2 visa? Does an E-2 visa require 50% or 51% ownership?

By February 13, 2020May 13th, 2021E-2 Visa, Immigration, Investor Visas

An E-2 visa has a number of requirements including investing money and hiring U.S. workers.  The visa is only available to nationals from certain countries and in order to get an E-2 visa, the U.S. entity must be at least 50% owned by nationals from the Treaty country.  The question often arises of whether the required percentage of ownership of the E-2 entity is 50% or 51%.  Based on the regulations, the clear answer to the question is 50%.

Do I have to own 50% or 51% of the E-2 Entity?

In order to obtain an E-2 visa as an investor, the investor must show that he/she controls the U.S. entity.  Control is usually demonstrated by showing that the investor owns the majority of an entity, such that he/she can vote and direct the entity based on that vote.  While owning 50% does not give one absolute control, the regulations are clear that a concept of “negative control” still meets the E-2 visa requirement of control. That is, if 2 parties each own 50% of a company, one (or both) could qualify for an E-2 investor visa based on control.  You can see the other E-2 visa requirements by clicking here.

 Can my ownership percentage in the company change? Can my ownership in an E-2 company drop below 50%?

Let us look at the following example:  A company’s ownership split is 60% owned by a U.K. national and 40% owned by a national from the U.S.  The U.K. national applies for an E-2 as an investor and the visa is granted.  One year later, the company ownership flips (sale, transfer or by other means) and becomes 60% owned by the U.S. national and 40% owned by the U.K national.   What happens when the E-2 investor ownership drops below 50%?

The E-2 business must always be at least 50% owned by nationals from the Treaty country to maintain E-2 status. If the ownership percentage drops below 50%, anyone who has an E-2 visa in the company would lose that status.  There is a 60-day grace period that applies but the E-2 investor or E-2 employee would not be able to work during that period.

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2 Comments

  • Vince says:

    Hello,
    My 2 friends and I all of us are from Taiwan, willing to invest in a business in the U.S. Each of us will invest an equal amount or $40K each. We plan to open a bubble tea shop. Is it possible for all 3 of us to obtain E-2 visas as direct owners of the business in the U.S.? Or should we first, set up a parent company A in our country, and than have company A open company B in the U.S., which will be Company A’s subsidiary, then apply for E-2 visas as managerial employees? The goal is for three of us to invest together and obtain E-2s together.
    Thank you.

    • IanScott says:

      Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate your business and look forward to helping you. Please find attached a link that you can use to set up a 30 minute ($150) or 1 hour ($250) consultation. The system allows you to select a lawyer and a day and time that is convenient to you. If you end up hiring the firm and your bill is greater than $2,500, we will apply this consultation fee to your final bill. Please reach out if you have any questions.

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