Moving to the United States on an E-2 treaty investor visa often means handling many changes at once. A business is getting off the ground. A home is being set up. Daily life is taking shape in a new place.
While all of this is happening, life continues in real ways. Bills are paid in a new system. Travel is planned around work and visa timing. Everyday decisions are made without the safety net of familiarity. In some cases, a child is born during this period.
The joy of a new arrival mingles with uncertainty. There is now a newborn whose presence reshapes priorities, including questions about immigration status. The question becomes urgent and personal: what happens now? What do you need to do? How does this affect your visa, your family’s status, your ability to stay?
The answer depends on where the child is born. There are two primary scenarios: a child born in the U.S., and a child born abroad. Each scenario involves distinct legal pathways and documentation requirements that warrant careful consideration.
Scenario 1: Child born in the United States
When a child is born in the U.S., the child’s status is determined under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Fourteenth Amendment provides that all persons born in the United States and subject to U.S. jurisdiction are U.S. citizens at birth.
As a result, a child born in the United States to parents holding E-2 treaty investor status is a U.S. citizen from birth.
U.S. citizenship is conferred automatically at the time of birth. No immigration filing or visa-related action is required for the child to lawfully remain in the United States. The parents’ E-2 status continues to be governed separately under U.S. immigration law.
Scenario 2: Child born outside the United States
When a child is born outside the United States, the child does not receive U.S. citizenship at birth. The child must obtain immigration status in order to enter the United States.
U.S. immigration law allows an E-2 treaty investor’s unmarried child under the age of 21 to enter the United States as a dependent.
To do this, the child must be issued an E-2 dependent visa by a U.S. Embassy or Consulate before traveling to the United States. The application is based on the parent’s valid E-2 status and proof of the parent-child relationship.
Once admitted to the United States in E-2 dependent status, the child may live in the U.S. for as long as the parent maintains valid E-2 status.
Source:
U.S. Constitution. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-14/
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/section-214.2
U.S. Department of State. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/treaty-investor-visa-e2.html