Many E-2 Treaty Investor visa holders build businesses that succeed. Some reach a point where the business has strong value, steady revenue, or an attractive sale opportunity, making a sale a strategic decision. Others may face different circumstances, such as changes in the market or personal priorities, that lead them to close the business and move on to a new venture or direction.
Selling a business or closing can feel like a natural next step, especially when the timing is right. However, for an E-2 investor, the business is also the basis for the E-2 classification. When that business is sold or no longer operates in its approved form, the question becomes what that change means for the investor’s ability to remain in E-2 status in the United States.
How E-2 eligibility is tied to the approved business
Under the E-2 Treaty Investor classification, eligibility is based on the investor developing and directing a specific U.S. business. The government reviews the business presented when an E-2 classification is requested and approves the status based on that enterprise and the investor’s role in it.
Because of this structure, E-2 eligibility depends on the continued existence of the approved business in the form that supported the original approval. Ownership, control, and the investor’s role in directing the enterprise are central to whether the investor continues to qualify for E-2 status.
What Happens to Your E-2 Visa if the Business Is Sold?
Selling the U.S. business does not automatically cancel an E-2 visa. However, a sale can affect the investor’s ability to continue qualifying for E-2 status if it results in a fundamental change to the business that supported the original approval.
U.S. regulations state that government approval is required when there is a substantive change in the terms or conditions of E-2 status. The regulation identifies a merger, acquisition, or sale of the business as examples of changes that may be considered fundamental because they can alter ownership, control, and the investor’s role in developing and directing the enterprise.
When a sale changes these core elements, the facts that supported the original E-2 approval may no longer be the same. In that situation, continued eligibility under the existing E-2 classification must be reviewed to determine whether the investor still qualifies based on the approved enterprise.
What Happens to Your E-2 Visa if the Business Is Closed?
When a U.S. business is closed, the enterprise that supported the original E-2 approval is no longer operating. Because E-2 eligibility is based on developing and directing an active U.S. business, the closure of that business means the approved basis for E-2 status no longer exists.
U.S. regulations focus on whether the activity forming the basis of E-2 status continues to exist. When that activity ends, the investor no longer meets the requirements for E-2 classification through that business. Any continued reliance on E-2 classification would require a different approved basis under U.S. immigration rules.
Key Takeaway
For E-2 investors, everything comes back to the business that supported the original approval. If the business is sold, the government looks at whether that sale changes who owns, controls, and directs the enterprise. If those facts change, E-2 eligibility must be reviewed.
If the business is closed, the situation is more direct. The business that formed the basis of E-2 eligibility no longer exists, and the investor no longer qualifies for E-2 status through that enterprise.
Sources:
- USCIS. https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/e-2-treaty-investors
- Code of Federal Regulations. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/subpart-A/section-214.2
- Foreign Affairs Manual. https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM040209.html