About 54,000 E2 Treaty Investor Visas were issued by authorities in the United States last year, accounting for a 20 per cent increase from the preceding year, hitting an all-time high.
The E2 visa is a US non-immigrant visa category that is issued for individual persons or investing companies from territories that have a treaty with the United States, VisaGuide.World reports.
The investment can be in any industry or business, including tourism, IT, and marketing, among others.
According to the IMI report, E2 approval volumes registered new highs for most nationalities. However, some stood out for their extreme year-on-year increases. The same notes that while Chileans experienced a nearly six-fold increase in visas issued, from 54 registered in 2022 to 310 registered last year, Colombians’ approvals almost quadrupled.
The same source reveals that the last year, the number of E2 visa approvals was 54,963, of them the majority from nationals from Japan (15,560) followed by those from Germany (3,779), Canada (6,254), France (2,851), Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2,843) among others.
IMI statistics reveal that the number of E2 visa approvals in 2022 was 45,878, while in 2021, it stood at 33,129, while in 2020, it registered the most profound decrease to 23,493. At the same time, figures before the spread of COVID-19 and related restrictions in 2019 stood at 43,286.
In South America, the consulates only recently opened up after years of being closed to E2 visas. They’ve been remarkably slow to recover but are finally reviewing E2 applications again.
At the same time, Patrick Findaro, managing partner at Visa Franchise, highlighted the fact that the US consulates in Chile and Columbia had not accepted appointments for E2 visas for more than two years.
According to Findaro, processing times came way down last year, stressing that throughout 2021 and 2022, the clients would have to wait up to a year or more for a consulate appointment.
The E-2 visa holders are eligible to live and work in the US for a period of five years. If they plan to stay for a longer period, they are required to apply for a renewal of their visa. Approved work visas are valid for two years and can be renewed indefinitely.
Around 80 countries are considered treaty nations to the United States in commerce and navigation.
Recently, the US government said that it is considering proposals by India for a pact on social security pertaining to non-resident Indians and to be granted “treaty country status” that will open up new E1 and E2 visa options to Indians, according to India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal.