E-2 Visa

Can a Canadian get a green card with 30000$? I heard I can invest 30000$ in a business and get a green card – is this correct?

I have a bachelor’s degree in commerce. Please let me know what is involved legally  

Thanks

No, you cannot obtain an investment based green card with a $30,000 investment. You would need to invest a minimum of $500,000. However, it may be sufficient for an E2 investor visa but $30,000 is still a little low for that. While the law does not list a minimum investment amount, the smallest investment that our firm has received an approval for is about $50,000. The State Department recognizes that the cost to establish a service based business is low and that they will look at the “amount necessary to establish a viable enterprise.”

I have $100,000 to $200,000 to invest in a new company. Is this enough to get E2 visa?

Immigration law does not identify a specific minimum required for an E2 investment visa. However, in our experience an investment of less than $50,000 will not be approved and an investment less than $100,000 may be difficult depending on the USCIS Service Center or US Consulate where the E2 application is filed.

In most cases $100,000 to $200,000 will be considered sufficient but you must be able to show that the amount is both “substantial” and not “marginal.” A substantial investment is an investment that is:

• Substantial in the proportional sense, i.e. , in relationship to the total cost of either purchasing an established enterprise or creating the type of enterprise under consideration;
• Sufficient to ensure the treaty investor’s financial commitment to the successful operation of the enterprise; and
• Of a magnitude to support the likelihood that the treaty investor will successfully develop and direct the enterprise.

Whether an amount of capital is substantial in the proportionality sense is understood in terms of an inverted sliding scale; i.e. , the lower the total cost of the enterprise, the higher, proportionately, the investment must be to meet these criteria.

A marginal enterprise is an enterprise that does not have the present or future capacity to generate more than enough income to provide a minimal living for the treaty investor and his or her family. An enterprise that does not have the capacity to generate such income but that has a present or future capacity to make a significant economic contribution is not a marginal enterprise. The projected future capacity should generally be realizable within five years from the date the alien commences normal business activity of the enterprise.