How soon after E-2 denial can I re-apply?

If your E-2 visa was denied, you can always re-apply for the E-2 visa and address the officer’s concerns in the E-2 visa re-application. In case your E-2 visa is being denied, it is very important to ask the Consular officer at the interview what is the reason for the denial. This way, you will be able to address any concerns the officer had in your re-application.

Please see our blog post on  What to do if your E-2 visa was denied here.

Sometimes we get asked how long after the E-2 visa denial should the re-application be filed. The answer is that this will depend on what was the reason for the denial and how long it will take you to address the officer’s concerns.

The Consular officer denied the visa because the investment amount was too low you could re-apply as soon as you invest additional money in the E2 company and as soon as you are able to demonstrate that the investment you made is substantial. We recommend submitting evidence that shows where the additional investment money comes from and what was it spent on (submit a detailed investment schedule with invoices and proofs that the money was spent).

The Consular Officer denied the visa because he thought that your E-2 company is marginal. To address this, you are planning to hire 2 employees in the next 3-4 months but you want to submit the re-application and get the interview as soon as possible, within a month. In this case, we recommend waiting until you have both new employees on board and you are able to submit a couple of recent paystubs showing you have been paying the employees. Additionally, it would be good to submit an additional evidence to show the business is operating/taking revenue from clients (for example contracts with clients).

Please note that some reasons for denial are more difficult to address and take longer time to address than others. For example, if the Officer denied your application because he was having doubts whether you will be able to develop and direct the business because you just graduated school and have no work experience of any sort, this may be a more difficult reason to address.

You can try to re-apply shortly after the denial and re-iterate you education/relevant experience while you were studying, or you can perhaps wait some time and re-apply when you will be able to demonstrate that you have at least some work experience.

To sum up, how fast you can re-apply for the E-2 visa after your initial denial will depend on what the concern of the officer was. Some concerns can be addressed faster than others.