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E-2 visa approval for Canadian investor in 7 weeks

From Canada to the U.S.: How a Canadian Wellness Entrepreneur Secured Her E-2 Visa

If you’re a Canadian entrepreneur dreaming of launching a business in the U.S., the E-2 Treaty Investor visa can be your gateway. Recently, we helped a Canadian investor turn her passion for wellness into a thriving U.S. enterprise—earning E-2 approval in record time.

The Vision: Building a Wellness Hub
Our client is a Canadian citizen passionate about holistic health. She envisioned a professional wellness center offering massage therapy, personal training, nutrition counseling, and corporate wellness experiences in the U.S.

Investing in Success

To bring this vision to life, she developed a comprehensive business plan with five-year projections, secured a commercial location, and fully outfitted the space. She invested in equipment and supplies, obtained insurance, launched marketing efforts, and executed a lease for her wellness facility. The investment funds were derived from multiple legitimate sources, all of which were carefully documented.

The E-2 Application Journey
An essential part of the process was showing the U.S. consulate in Toronto that the investment was substantial and the funds were legitimately sourced. We prepared a thorough application, including a detailed business plan, proof of expenditures, and comprehensive source-of-funds documentation.

Quick Turnaround, Big Win
The consulate reviewed her application in just two weeks, with the interview scheduled shortly thereafter—within five weeks.  She walked out with an approved E-2 visa, ready to manage and direct her new U.S. business.

Why This Matters
This story shows how a well-prepared E-2 application can move quickly. For Canadian investors, the E-2 visa offers a straightforward path to building and running a U.S. business—especially when you have the right guidance.

Start Your E-2 Visa Strategy

👉 Schedule a consultation now to evaluate your eligibility, structure your investment properly, and develop a clear strategy for your E-2 visa: https://juraslaw.com/schedule-consultation/

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Does “trade” include only international exchange of goods for purposes of E-1 visa?

E-1 visa requires (a) a treaty, (b) the individual or business possess the nationality of the treaty country, (c) the activities the applicant will engage in constitute “trade”, (d) the trade is substantial and (e) principally between the US and the treaty country, (f) if an employee is the applicant, (s)he is destined to an executive or supervisory position or possesses essential skills to the US operation and (g) intends to depart the US when the E-1 status terminates.

The items of “trade” include but are not limited to goods, services, international banking, insurance monies, transportation, communications, data processing, advertising, accounting, design and engineering, management consulting, tourism, technology and its transfer, and some news-gathering activities.   As you can see, it does not have to be only physical goods.  Here is an example.

My client owns a Canadian franchised custom home building and renovation company that offers its clients the home building and renovation services through the company’s network of franchisees. My client formed a US company to engage in the business of offering and granting franchises in the United States.  The Canadian company provides accounting, legal, broker, marketing and training services to the US company.  There is an actual exchange of services and moneys that create transactions considered “trade”.   E-1 visa was approved quickly.

Please note that this article does not constitute a legal advice.  We simplified the law to outline one aspect of E-1 visa.   If you would like us to discuss if you qualify for E-1 visa and help us get you an E-1 visa, call our experienced E-1 visa attorney at 480-425-2009 or schedule your consultation online

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Expansion of Interview Waiver Eligibility for Non-immigrant Visa Applicants

The Department of State has temporarily expanded the ability of consular officers to waive the in-person interview for visa applicants applying for a non-immigrant visa in the same classification. This is a very good news. For example, I have applications to renew treaty investor visas (E-2) filed in March that are still pending and the consulate has not resumed in person interviews. Especially, for successfully entrepreneurs with solid financials who are employing workforce and otherwise meet the treaty investor visa (E-2) requirement, this makes a perfect sense.

At the time of COVID-19 pandemic, reducing in person interactions and the necessity to travel reduces the risk of COVID-19 transmission. This policy also helps with the backlog of visa applications that have been filed when the consulates were closed.

Previously, only those applicants whose non-immigrant visa expired within 12 months were eligible for an interview waiver. The expiration period has been temporarily extended to 24 months. This policy is in effect until December 31, 2020.

Please note that this articles does not constitute a legal advice.  We provided some information about the latest policy regarding the wavier of in-person interview of non-immigrant visas. If you would like to discuss if you may qualify for any non-immigrant visas, call our experienced immigration attorney attorney at 480-425-2009 or schedule your consultation online.