E-2 Visa for Canadian Investors
Guides on the E-2 treaty investor visa for Canadians and other treaty-country nationals: eligibility, the investment, timelines, change of status, spouses and children, and the routes from E-2 to a green card. Canada is an E-2 treaty country (treaty effective January 1, 1994), and Canadian citizens are directly eligible to apply.
- 127E-2 Visa Change of Status: Why USCIS Grants Status, Not a VisaE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsInvestors ask whether they can apply for an E-2 visa from inside the country, are told yes, and assume the result is a visa in the passport. It is not. USCIS grants classification. Consulates issue visas. An E-2 visa cha…
- 125E-1 Treaty Trader Visa: Requirements, Trade Tests and E-1 vs E-2E-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsThe E-1 treaty trader visa is the quieter half of the E treaty pair. Most people reach the E category thinking about investment, because E-2 takes up most of the oxygen. But if your business already moves goods, services…
- 122Can E-2 Visa Holders Work for Another Company? What the Rules AllowE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsCan E-2 visa holders work for another company? In almost every case the answer is no, and the reason is structural rather than discretionary. E-2 classification is granted for a named treaty enterprise and for a defined …
- 121E-2 Visa Denial: What a Refusal Means and What to Do NextE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsAn E-2 visa denial almost never arrives with an explanation of the law behind it. Most applicants leave the interview window holding a printed slip, a statute number, and no sense of whether the case is finished or merel…
- 120Starting an E-2 Business in New York: Formation Steps, Fees and What Consular Officers CheckE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsStarting an E-2 business in New York puts a treaty investor in one of the largest commercial markets in the United States and in one of the more procedural ones. New York has no single registry that handles everything. C…
- 119What Is the E-2 Visa? A Plain-Language Guide to the Treaty Investor VisaE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsIf you have been told that buying a business in the United States is a way to move there, the visa people usually mean is the E-2. So what is the E-2 visa? There is a short answer and a long one. The short […]
- 118E-2 Visa Business for Sale: What Actually Qualifies in 2026E-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsSearching for an E-2 visa business for sale is the most common way Canadian and other treaty-country investors start their move into the United States. Buying something that already trades is attractive because the numbe…
- 117E-2 Visa Spouse Work Authorization: What E-2S Status Actually AllowsE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsWhen a Canadian founder moves to the United States on an E-2 visa, the question that decides whether the move works is rarely about the investor. It is about the spouse. E-2 visa spouse work authorization is one of the f…
- 116E-2 Visa Renewal: Extending Your Status Versus Getting a New VisaE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsAlmost every question about E-2 visa renewal starts from the same wrong assumption: that there is one thing called a renewal. There are two, they are run by two different agencies, and the one you need depends on where y…
- 115E-2 Visa Countries: The Full Treaty List and What Nationality ControlsE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsIf you are researching E-2 visa countries, you are asking the first question that actually decides the case. Everything else about the E-2 visa, the size of the investment, the business plan, the interview, only matters …
- 114E-2 Visa Processing Time: What the Official Numbers Actually SayE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsEvery investor asks the same question before committing money to a United States business, and almost every answer online is a range someone made up. The honest position is that the E-2 visa processing time depends entir…
- 113E-2 Visa Interview Questions: How to Prepare and Answer with ConfidenceE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsThe E-2 visa interview is the final step between your investment and your visa. You have built the business plan, moved the funds, and filed the forms. Now everything depends on a short conversation with a consular offic…
- 097E-2 Visa Approval Rate: What the State Department Data ShowsE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsHow likely is an E-2 application to succeed? The E-2 visa approval rate at U.S. consular posts worked out to 90.1 percent in fiscal year 2024, the most recent full year of official State Department workload data. Consula…
- 078E-2 Visa Requirements 2026: Who Qualifies & How to Prove ItE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsQuick answer: an E-2 visa requires treaty-country nationality; a substantial amount of capital, at risk and irrevocably committed, invested or actively being invested in a real, operating enterprise that is more than mar…
- 047E-2 Visa Application 2026: Steps, Timeline & DenialsE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsYou may already have the business idea, the U.S. target market, and even a shortlist of companies to buy. What usually slows Canadian founders down isn’t ambition. It’s uncertainty about the immigration path, the paperwo…
- 040E-2 Visa from Canada in 2026: The Complete Guide for Canadian InvestorsE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsThe E-2 visa from Canada is one of the cleanest cross-border investor pathways available to a Canadian entrepreneur in 2026 — and one of the most under-utilized. Canada is an E-2 treaty country with zero reciprocity fees…
- 039E-2 Visa to Green Card: 4 Proven Pathways in 2026E-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsThe E-2 visa to green card transition is one of the most misunderstood corners of U.S. immigration. The E-2 is a non-immigrant visa with no direct path to permanent residency — but that doesn’t mean E-2 holders are stuck…
- 038E-2 Visa Cost 2026: $6,000-$15,000 Petition Fee BreakdownE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsThe E-2 visa cost in 2026 has two distinct components that most applicants confuse: the process cost (government fees, attorney fees, business plan) and the investment cost (the substantial capital you put into your U.S.…
- 022E-2 Visa Minimum Investment 2026: $100K+ Practical FloorE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsIf you’re asking about the E-2 visa minimum investment amount 2026, you’re already asking a better question than most investors. The main issue isn’t whether U.S. law sets a fixed number. It doesn’t. The issue is whether…
- 013E-2 visa vs EB-5 visa which is better: 2026 InsightE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsA Canadian founder reaches the same moment. The U.S. customer pipeline is real, the New York or Florida expansion plan is ready, and the immigration question becomes the gating issue. At Mayo Law, this question drives th…
- 0128 Best Businesses for E-2 Visa Approval (2026 Examples)E-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsYou are ready to enter the U.S. market, but one question keeps controlling the entire E-2 strategy: what business gives you the strongest approval path? For many investors from treaty countries, including Canada, the ans…
- 011Master E-2 Visa Business Plan RequirementsE-2 Visa for Canadian InvestorsA strong E-2 filing often turns on one document: the business plan. If you are a founder in Toronto, Ottawa, or elsewhere in a treaty country and you are preparing to expand into the U.S., the plan is where your business…
What is the E-2 treaty investor visa?
The E-2 visa is a U.S. non-immigrant visa that allows nationals of countries with a qualifying treaty of commerce with the United States to enter and work in the U.S. based on a substantial investment in a bona fide U.S. business. It is renewable indefinitely as long as the business continues to operate and the investor maintains treaty country nationality. The E-2 visa also permits dependent spouses and unmarried children under 21 to accompany the principal investor, with E-2S work authorization available for spouses.
Can Canadians apply for an E-2 visa?
Yes — Canada is an E-2 treaty country (treaty effective January 1, 1994), and Canadian citizens are directly eligible to apply.
Canadian E-2 applicants receive among the most favorable terms available: 5-year multiple-entry visas with no reciprocity fee, processed through the U.S. Consulate General in Toronto. To qualify, you must be a Canadian citizen (permanent residents are not eligible — citizenship is required), invest a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide U.S. business, and be coming to the U.S. solely to develop and direct that enterprise.
If you also hold dual citizenship in another treaty country, you can apply on either passport. For Canadian residents who are not citizens, alternative pathways include the EB-5 investor green card, L-1 intra-company transfer, or O-1 extraordinary ability visa.
What is the minimum investment for an E-2 visa?
There is no statutory minimum investment for the E-2 visa. What matters is that the investment is “substantial” relative to the cost of establishing or purchasing the type of business in question, and that the business is more than marginal — meaning it has the capacity to generate more than enough income to support the investor and their family. In practice, most successful E-2 cases involve investments in the range of USD $100,000 to $500,000+, though smaller and larger investments are approved depending on the industry and business model.