E-2 treaty investor visas: what a Turkish investor should understand

The treaty requirement

Because the category rests on a treaty, nationality controls. The investor must hold the nationality of the treaty country, and a dual national generally applies on the basis of the qualifying nationality. Where the investor is itself a company, the question becomes who owns that company: at least fifty percent of the enterprise must be owned by persons who hold the treaty nationality and who are not lawful permanent residents of the United States.

Ownership is worth mapping carefully at the outset. A structure that brings in a partner of another nationality, or that routes the investment through a holding company in a third country, can change the analysis. It is far easier to adjust the structure before capital moves than to explain it afterwards.

Capital that is at risk and irrevocably committed

The investment must be real. The funds must be committed to the enterprise and genuinely at risk of loss if the business does not perform. Money sitting in a personal or business bank account, or a stated intention to invest in the future, does not satisfy the requirement on its own.

In practice this usually means the capital has already been spent or irrevocably obligated: premises leased, equipment purchased, inventory ordered, a franchise agreement signed, staff engaged. Where a purchase is not yet complete, funds held in escrow and released only on issuance of the visa can, in the right circumstances, show commitment without exposing the investor to loss if the application is refused.

The capital must also come from a lawful source, and the path it took must be traceable. Records showing where the money originated in Türkiye or elsewhere, how it was transferred, and how it reached the business should be kept from the first transfer. Loans secured by the assets of the business itself generally do not count toward the investment, while funds borrowed against the investor’s personal assets may.

There is no published minimum

A common misunderstanding is that the E-2 category carries a fixed dollar threshold. It does not. The rules apply a proportionality test: the amount invested is weighed against the total cost of purchasing or establishing the particular enterprise. The lower the total cost of the business, the higher the proportion of that cost the investment is generally expected to represent.

A modest service business and a capital-intensive manufacturing operation are therefore measured on different scales, and a sum that is substantial for one may be plainly insufficient for the other. Any single figure quoted elsewhere as “the minimum” is a rule of thumb, not law, and treating it as a legal requirement is a mistake in either direction.

A business that is more than marginal

The enterprise must be a real, active commercial undertaking that produces goods or services. Passive investments, such as undeveloped land or a portfolio of shares, do not qualify. The business must also not be marginal: it should have the present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and the investor’s family, or to make a meaningful economic contribution, which is often shown through the creation of jobs for workers in the United States.

A credible business plan is usually central to showing this, particularly for a new enterprise. It should describe the market, the operation, the projected staffing and the financial projections in terms that can be tested against the evidence.

Developing and directing the business

The category is for an investor who will develop and direct the enterprise, not for a passive holder of shares. The applicant is expected to hold at least fifty percent of the business or to have operational control through a managerial position or another corporate device. Where the investor will not run daily operations personally, the ownership and the investor’s role need to be arranged so that the direction requirement is still met.

A spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one may generally accompany the investor in derivative status, and the spouse may be eligible to work. Children may attend school, but they must qualify on their own basis once they reach twenty-one.

What to gather first

A first conversation is more productive when the following are at hand: the enterprise’s formation documents and ownership records; evidence of the investment made so far, such as leases, invoices and purchase agreements; evidence of the lawful source of the funds and of each transfer; a business plan describing the operation and its projected staffing; and the investor’s passport and civil documents. For an existing business being purchased, financial statements, tax filings and the purchase agreement help show that the enterprise is real and operating. Documents in Turkish will need complete English translations.