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What is the E-2 Visa interview like?

The E-2 Visa Interview

So, you may be wondering among all the legal requirements, business planning and country-specific eligibility rules helpfully and succinctly set out on this site, what happens once an interview is scheduled for my E2 investment visa?

Well, wonder no more future titan of the U.S. industry.

Once your application has been prepared and filed with the relevant U.S. Embassy or Consulate, there follows a period of an internal review, after which you will be invited to an interview to answer any additional questions that may have arisen during the initial file review.

This happens in every case; the only difference being the number of questions and what aspect of your business they pertain to. The government also needs to take your passport for a few days so they can insert your shiny new E2 visa.

Being summoned by the U.S. Federal Government to its own territory, albeit often in your own country, wherein your entire business plan hinges on the outcome?

It sounds nerve-racking, though it need not be. The difference between this being a daunting experience and one you are genuinely looking forward to, is, like many things in life, proper preparation.

By retaining expert business plan preparers and legal counsel, you can massively mitigate the chances of anything going awry at the interview. One thing, in particular, you gain by doing this is that the initial filing is prepared in a manner known to be pleasing to case adjudicators around the world. The requirements are clearly set out, as are the means by which your case has met them; this then reduces the time you will spend at the interview.

Contrary to what many seem to believe, they are not going to sit you in a room with two grizzled federal agents asking you endless questions while they smoke cigarettes and play good cop/bad cop. They really do not have the time or the resources, and ultimately you are making a capital investment in the United States, creating jobs and a positive economic impact; yes, you are very much who they want to let into the country!

When arriving at the Embassy, you will clear airport-style security. Thereafter, the process varies, but the end-stage is almost universal. You are called by number or name to a window, similar to a teller behind glass at the bank.

The duration of the interview is approximately five to ten minutes maximum. This is where expert advice and preparation in the lead up to the interview is again indispensable.

The officer at the window may not be completely convinced about a certain aspect of your business. This then is your chance to make an elevator pitch, just like if you were on ‘Shark Tank’ (or ‘Dragon’s Den’ if you are European).

Normally the range of questioning will be very limited. If they had any grave concerns about your case, a request for evidence would likely have been issued (although not always). What that leaves to you is to know your own business model; fortunately, you are the most qualified person in the world for this task.

The short interview goes very swiftly. You may have been advised to take along additional documents by your legal counsel and may have made reference to these as needed. Bear in mind your business may already be ‘real and operating’ at the time you go to the interview. This means you may likely have made more sales, acquired new equipment, hired a new employee. Taking along evidence of this may save you from being asked to provide this evidence at a later date to satisfy the interviewing officer’s query.

The overall theme here, as you might have gathered, is preparation. 

If you do this on your own it is immensely difficult to ascertain all the different factors at play, both before the interview and during. If you hire experts to prepare your filing, all you have to do is review the case packet filed on your behalf, which details your business and how it meets the U.S. Government’s legal requirements as a viable E2 investment vehicle.

You also happen to be an expert on the contents of that expertly prepared packet. In my experience, that is as close to an open goal as this process can be made.

Once the interview is completed, you will know if you have ‘won’. They will ask for your passport and tell you your case has been approved. You have conceived of a business, executed it, assumed the risk, and succeeded in satisfying the most powerful government in history that it is very likely a winner. Well done to you.

We Won!

By site-Gz4R1w • 24 Aug, 2023
The winners of the Great Companies Women Entrepreneurs Award - 2023 Award have been announced and Kate Alonzi, our CEO is one of them.

MRV Fee Goes up to $315 for E2 Visa Applicants

By site-Gz4R1w • 01 Jun, 2023
Increase in MRV FEE effective June 17, 2023
What are the requirements for an E2 Investor Visa?

What are the requirements for an E2 Investor Visa?

22 May, 2023
The E2 Investor Visa is intended at least in part to provide a way for individuals from Treaty Countries to facilitate economic growth in the US. That is an important phrase and something to always keep in mind when looking at the requirements. The bulk of the requirements is intended to prove that the E2 Investor Visa applicant will run a business to do just that. While the list of requirements for an E2 Visa is very specific and all must be met, showing the US Government that an applicant has met all requirements is subject to a great amount of judgment. The US Immigration Officials seek to be fair, flexible, and uniform when adjudicating an E2 Investor Visa application. Make no mistake. The burden of proof is with the applicant, and the judgment of the US Immigration Official reviewing the application rises above all else. If the Immigration Official is in any way uncertain as to the applicant’s qualifications, then they can request whatever document they want until the uncertainty is resolved. The key to a successful E2 Investor Visa application is to understand or employ someone who does all of the requirements and how to prove the applicant meets them.
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