Foreign nationals who wish to invest in a business in the United States may be able to do so under either an "intra-company transferee" (or "L1A"); or an "investor" (or "E2") visa.
To obtain an L1A visa, a foreign
company has to open a new U.S. branch, affiliate or subsidiary
that is owned primarily by the same people who owns the foreign
company; or buy an existing company that is in a similar business
as the foreign company. The "affiliated companies" may
be offices of the same company, companies in a parent/subsidiary
relationship, or affiliate companies with common ownership by
a third company or individual or a group of individuals. The key
factor in determining whether there is a proper relationship between
the foreign company and its U.S. subsidiary is whether the same
owners have "effective control" over both companies.
Effective control does not necessarily mean 50% stock ownership;
some stock ownership, even a relatively small percentage in a
large company, and a substantial degree of managerial control
can establish effective control.
Once a U.S. subsidiary is created, the foreign company can "transfer"
any "executive" or "manager" of the foreign
company to its U.S. subsidiary. An "executive" or "manager"
is someone who is in charge of the whole company, or a significant
part of its operations (for example, sales or marketing). People
with "specialized knowledge" necessary to open or operate
the U.S. subsidiary can also transfer to the U.S., but these visas
are harder to obtain.
One major benefit of the L1A Visa is that the L1A foreign national
can obtain a permanent residency "green card" once the
U.S. subsidiary has existed and been profitable for one year.
If the foreign company buys an existing U.S. company, the one
year time period includes the years the U.S. company has been
in business.
For information on U.S. government agencies that process nonimmigrant visas, please go to:
U.S. Government Information
If a foreign national does not own a business overseas, (s)he may still invest in a new or existing U.S. business through an E2 visa. Although the information required for an E2 visa slightly different than for an L1A visa, the overall process is the same. A foreign national can live in the U.S. under an E2 visa so long as his business is prosperous. An E2 visa applicant does not have to apply to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the United States before applying for a visa at a U.S. consulate.
Two major drawbacks to an E2 visa is: (1) only foreign nationals from specific countries can obtain an E2 visa (see table below); and (2) an E2 visa holder cannot obtain a permanent residency "green card".
| Argentina | Armenia | Australia | Austria | Bangladesh | Belgium | Bosnia | Bulgaria | Cameroon | Canada |
| China (Taiwan) | Columbia | Congo | Costa Rica | Crotia | Czech Rep. | Ecuador | Egypt | Estonia | Ethiopia* |
| Finland | France | Georgia | Germany | Grenada | Honduras | Iran** | Ireland | Italy | Jamaica |
| Japan | Kazakhstan | Korea | Kyrgyzstan | Latvia | Liberia | Luxembourg | Macedonia | Mexico | Moldova |
| Mongolia | Morocco | Netherlands | Norway | Oman | Pakistan | Panama | Paraguay | Philippines | Poland |
| Romania | Senegal | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sri Lanka | Suriname | Sweden | Switzerland | Thailand |
| Togo | Trinidad & Tongo | Tunisia | Turkey | Ukraine | United Kingdom*** | Zaire |
* The U.S. State Department has
not yet determined whether Eritrea will be considered a successor
to the treaty with Ethiopia.
** Iran's treaties are still in effect despite the lack of diplomatic
relations between the countries. Single entry E-2 visas are still
available if it can be shown that there is no financial connection
between the investment enterprise and Iran.
*** The treaty with the United Kingdom is only for British nationals
"normally resident" in the UK. Therefore, no "landed
immigrants" from Canada, Hong Kong or other countries can
obtain an E-2 visa.
