Applicants and their immediate relatives who enter the United States to invest substantial capital in a commercial enterprise and to direct its operations may be granted E-2 visas.

To qualify as a Treaty Investor, you must be a national of a treaty country. The investment must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of a real operating enterprise. The percentage of investment for a low-cost enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise.

The investment must not be marginal. It must generate significantly more income than needed to provide a living to the investor and his/her family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the United States. The investor must have control of the funds and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. For the purpose of measuring the investment, loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not counted. The investor must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise. If applicants are not the principal investors, they must be employed as a supervisor, executive, or as the possessor of highly specialized skills.