E-2 Treaty Investor Visa: Requirements, Costs and Steps

Who can apply

The E-2 visa is for a national of a treaty country who has invested, or is actively investing, a substantial amount in a real U.S. business and is coming to develop and direct it. The State Department lists the qualifying treaties in 9 FAM 402.9-10. For Turkey, the E-2 provision entered into force on 18 May 1990 and the E-1 provision on 15 February 1933.

The business takes the nationality of its owners, not of the state where it is incorporated, so a Texas LLC owned by Turkish citizens is a Turkish business for E-2 purposes.

• Dual nationals must choose one treaty nationality for the company and use it for every E visa holder in that company (9 FAM 402.9-4(B)).
• Shares held by U.S. green-card holders do not count toward the treaty-national ownership.
• Employees of an E-2 company can also qualify if they share the company's treaty nationality and are executives, supervisors or people with skills essential to the business.
• Family: a spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come as dependents, whatever their nationality.

What counts as a substantial investment

9 FAM 402.9-6(D) sets no minimum. Officers apply a proportionality test that weighs the qualifying funds against the cost of the business. The FAM gives two reference points: 100% of a business that costs $100,000 to start would normally qualify, and $10 million into a $100 million business may qualify by its size alone.

The cost of an existing business is usually its purchase price; for a new business, it is what it takes to become operational, shown with invoices and contracts.

• Counts: your savings, gifts, inheritance or sale proceeds, and loans secured by your personal assets, such as a mortgage on your home.
• Counts with limits: rent or lease payments, but only one month's amount unless you prepaid; equipment and inventory actually used in the business.
• Does not count: loans secured by the business's own assets, money parked in a bank account, and purchase contracts you can still walk away from.
• In process of investing: an escrow that releases the money only when the visa is issued can work, if the deal is otherwise final.

The business must be real and more than marginal

The enterprise must be an active, for-profit business that produces goods or services. A paper company, undeveloped land or a stock portfolio held without directing a business does not qualify, and nonprofits are excluded.

It must also not be marginal. A marginal business cannot generate more than a minimal living for you and your family. A new business can pass if it will have that capacity, or can make a significant economic contribution, within 5 years. That is why a 5-year profit-and-loss projection sits at the centre of most E-2 business plans.

You must also show that the money came from a lawful source and that you control it. Expect to trace every transfer from its origin in Turkey to the U.S. company account. A physical office is not a legal requirement (9 FAM 402.9-4(D)), though it can help show the business is operating.

Start, buy or buy into a business

Applying from Turkey

E visa applications in Turkey are handled by the E visa unit at the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul. The steps below follow the U.S. Embassy in Turkey's published instructions.

1. Complete Form DS-160 for the investor and each family member, and pay the $315 visa application fee per person.
2. Book the appointment in the visa appointment system. The E visa unit then contacts you with instructions; do not send documents before it does.
3. Email the package to the address the unit gives you (EVisasIstanbul@state.gov on 16 October 2026), organised in 7 tabs (A to G), each a searchable PDF of no more than 15 MB.
4. Include a business plan with 5-year profit-and-loss projections if the company is less than five years old, and an itemised, dated list of investment expenses matched to bank statements.
5. Attend the interview. If the visa is issued, U.S. border officers admit you for up to 2 years per entry.

Applying from inside the United States

If you are already in the U.S. in another lawful nonimmigrant status, you can file Form I-129 with USCIS to change to E-2 status. USCIS cannot accept an E-2 request on Form I-129 from someone outside the U.S.

A change of status is not a visa. If you travel abroad, you need an E-2 visa from a consulate to return, and the Istanbul unit treats you as a first-time applicant.

Premium processing (Form I-907) brings an approval, denial or request for evidence within 15 business days; without it, the time varies with USCIS workload.

Government costs (16 October 2026)

Note 1

Documents to prepare

• A passport valid for at least 6 more months for each applicant.
• Proof of the source of funds: bank records, a tapu and sale contract if you sold property, dividend or salary records, or inheritance papers (veraset ilamı).
• The transfer trail from Turkey to the U.S. company account, with each wire matched to a bank statement.
• Company formation papers, the operating agreement or bylaws, and proof of your ownership share.
• Leases, purchase contracts, invoices and receipts for the main investment items.
• A business plan with hiring plans and 5-year profit-and-loss projections.
• U.S. tax returns and payroll records if the business already operates, and your CV.
• The Istanbul checklist also asks for Form DS-156E and a signed statement of intent to depart for the principal applicant, and a vukuatlı nüfus kayıt örneği for family relationships.
• Full English translations of Turkish documents. USCIS requires translations certified as complete and accurate (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)).

Common reasons for refusal or delay

• Funds not yet committed: money in an account, or a purchase still conditional without an escrow.
• A source of funds that cannot be traced, or large cash deposits with no paper trail.
• A plan that does not show the business can support more than a minimal living within 5 years.
• Ownership below 50% with no real operational control.
• A package the consulate cannot follow: the Istanbul unit says untraceable transactions may lead to a returned package or a cancelled interview.
• A merger, acquisition or sale after approval without a new Form I-129; USCIS must approve substantive changes.

When E-2 is not the right route

• You want a green card. E-2 is temporary and you must intend to leave when your status ends. EB-5 leads to permanent residence, with a minimum investment of $1,050,000 ($800,000 in a targeted employment area) and 10 full-time jobs (USCIS). See EB-5.
• Your business is trade, not investment. If you already trade goods or services between Turkey and the U.S., look at the E-1 treaty trader route.
• Your company abroad will send a manager. An established company outside the U.S. can use the L-1A for a new U.S. office; see L-1.
• You are not a treaty national. Mainland China, for example, is not on the list; EB-5 or L-1 may be routes to discuss.