E-2 Visa Denied? Here’s What You Need to Know
E-2 Visa Denied: Learn Why it Happens
Also known as the Treaty Investor Visa, the E-2 Visa lets the holder live in the United States for a predetermined amount of time and carry out business. The E-2 Visa holder’s employees and family members may also be eligible to come to the U.S. on E-2 Visas.
Has Your E-2 Visa Been Denied?
While this is a great option for many foreign entrepreneurs, the requirements to obtain an E-2 visa can be difficult to prove or satisfy, sometimes leading to unfair denials. However, if your E-2 visa application or renewal has been denied, don’t give up hope just yet — you may have options. With the help of a skilled E-2 Visa lawyer at E-2VisaWorld, you can identify the reasons why your visa was denied and create an effective action plan to ensure the future success of your petition.
E2 Visa Denial Reasons
If your E-2 visa application has been denied, typically the Consular Officer will outline the underlying reasons. There are a few common reasons why your application may be denied.
The first is that your investment may not be substantial enough. While there is no specific amount for what counts as a substantial investment, it can be difficult to get your E-2 Visa approved if the investment falls below $80,000. To meet the E-2 visa investment requirements, US immigration laws state that the investment should be able to support the start up phase of your enterprise and its growth thereafter. Read more about E-2 Visa basic requirements here.
Another reason why your E-2 Visa application may be denied is that the enterprise may not make sense financially. The consular officer will make a determination as to whether your business venture will generate revenues and whether it will not merely be marginal (i.e. it will not just provide an income for the applicants and their families). If the consular officer believes that the enterprise is unlikely to reach a self-sustainable level of revenues within a five year time period, your E-2 visa may be denied.
Additional recurring reasons for denial might be, for instance, that the consular officer believes that you do not qualify for your proposed role in the future U.S. enterprise or that your position may be covered by a U.S. worker. These are major concerns mostly for E-2 Visa employees applications. Employees should cover an executive or managerial role in the U.S. business or should have essential skills not easily replaceable by U.S. workers. If the consular officer suspects that the employee’s role does not meet the requirements to be considered managerial or executive, the E-2 Visa application may be denied.
On the same note, the position offered to the employee should not be replaceable in the U.S. labor market, i.e. it should not be easy to find a U.S. worker able to cover the same position. It is understandable that the United States expect you to hire U.S. workers when possible, instead of bringing them from your own country. This requirement can be very tricky and lead to denial: our E-2 Visa lawyers will help you build a suitable profile that will convince that a specific role may not be easily covered by U.S. workers.
Lastly, possible reasons for denial may be connected to your personal background: criminal convictions, prior travels to certain specific countries or the suspect that you might have worked in the U.S. in the past without a valid immigration status, among others, may lead to the rejection of your E-2 Visa application.
E-2 Visa Denial: What to Do Next?
There is no appeal against consular visa denials. The only thing you can do is to re-submit the application showing different requirements. Is it worth it to re-submit the E-2 Visa application and what are the chances to be approved? The answer to this question largely depends on the reason for the denial.
If the reason, for instance, is an insufficient investment, you might be able to re-file your application and get approved if you show that meanwhile you have invested more money. Otherwise, if the reason for denial is, for example, something in connection with prior criminal convictions, there might be little or nothing you can do to make things right.
Each denial is different and so are the underlying reasons. Contact our E-2 Visa attorneys today to understand if there is a viable way to re-submit your E-2 Visa application and get the approval that you deserve.
