Investor Visas (E-1, E-2, EB-5)

The three main investor visa routes

U.S. immigration law offers three primary visa categories for investors and treaty traders. Each has different capital requirements, eligibility rules, and outcomes:

E-2 Treaty Investor

The E-2 lets nationals of treaty countries enter and work in the U.S. by investing a substantial amount in a real, operating business. There is no minimum dollar figure, but the investment must be enough to put the funds at risk and to develop and direct the enterprise. Spouses can apply for work authorization. E-2 status is renewable in two-year increments indefinitely as long as the business remains active. The E-2 does not directly lead to a green card, but is one of the most popular paths for entrepreneurs from countries like Spain, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, Portugal, and the U.K. Portugal joined the E-2 treaty country list on March 15, 2024.

E-1 Treaty Trader

The E-1 is for nationals of treaty countries who carry on substantial international trade — primarily between the U.S. and the treaty country. "Trade" includes goods, services, banking, insurance, technology, and similar commerce. Like the E-2, it is renewable indefinitely.

EB-5 Immigrant Investor

EB-5 is the green-card path for investors. Current minimum investment is $1,050,000 in a new commercial enterprise that creates 10 full-time U.S. jobs, or $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) — high-unemployment or rural locations. Many EB-5 cases are filed through USCIS-designated regional centers, which lets investors pool funds and count indirect job creation. EB-5 issues a conditional 2-year green card; after meeting the job-creation requirement, conditions are removed. Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), these dollar thresholds are scheduled for an inflation-based adjustment every five years, with the next reset expected in early 2027.

E-2 Visa for Orlando Business Owners

Central Florida is one of the busiest E-2 markets in the country. Brazilian, Argentine, Colombian, Spanish, British, and increasingly Portuguese entrepreneurs use the E-2 to buy or build franchises, restaurants, professional service firms, vacation-rental operations, logistics businesses, and tech startups across Orlando, Kissimmee, Davenport, and the I-4 corridor. Many of our clients buy an existing Orlando business and then file the E-2 from inside the U.S. as a change of status, or process at the U.S. consulate in their home country. Disney-area service businesses, healthcare franchises in Lake Mary and Altamonte Springs, and short-term-rental management companies in Osceola County are common case patterns. We help structure the purchase or capitalization, document source of funds, prepare the Form I-129 (change of status) or DS-160/DS-156E (consular), and walk you through E-2 dependent work authorization for your spouse so the household income picture is fully covered.

How we help

Investor visa cases are evidence-heavy. We help structure the investment, draft the source-of-funds documentation, prepare the business plan to USCIS standards (we work with Matter of Ho-style Hopium business plans for EB-5), and represent you through consular interviews or USCIS adjudications. We also advise on the path from E-2 to a green card via EB-5 or employment-based options when that becomes the right move.

What a $100,000 E-2 Investment in a Central Florida Franchise Actually Looks Like

Most published E-2 guidance describes the visa in the abstract: substantiality, source of funds, intent to develop and direct. What follows is the practical version we walk Orlando-area clients through every month — the franchise categories that recur in our case load, the documents you actually assemble, the questions the U.S. consulate (or USCIS, for change-of-status filings) typically asks Central Florida applicants, and the timeline you can plan around.

The franchise categories Central Florida E-2 applicants pursue

Three franchise sectors dominate Central Florida E-2 filings. Food service is the largest by volume: quick-service and fast-casual brands clustered along the I-4 corridor, in Kissimmee tourist zones, and around the University of Central Florida. Automotive service is the second steady category — oil-change, detailing, transmission, and collision-repair franchises serving the heavy commuter volume across Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties. Fitness rounds out the top three: 24-hour gyms, boutique studios, and stretch / recovery concepts opening in suburban centers across Winter Park, Lake Mary, and Lake Nona. Hospitality-adjacent businesses (vacation-rental management, cleaning, transportation) also recur given Orlando’s 75-million-plus annual visitor base, but those cases require more careful structuring because intermittent revenue can trigger the marginality test described below.

The documentation an Orlando-area applicant actually assembles

For a Central Florida E-2 filing on a franchise of roughly this size, expect to assemble: (1) the executed franchise agreement and disclosure document (FDD), plus proof of the franchise fee wire; (2) the Florida commercial lease for the actual location, with the build-out schedule and security-deposit receipt; (3) Florida Division of Corporations records showing the U.S. entity formed and the applicant’s ownership / officer role; (4) source-of-funds tracing from the originating account abroad through every intermediate transfer, with bank statements and any sale-of-asset documentation that explains where the capital came from; (5) a business plan with Florida-specific market data and a five-year financial projection that shows the enterprise will not be marginal under 9 FAM 402.9-6(C); (6) hiring evidence or a clear hiring plan, since the enterprise must support more than just the investor and family within a reasonable time. The substantiality of investment standard is set out in 9 FAM 402.9-6(B); the requirement that funds be irrevocably committed and at risk is at 9 FAM 402.9-6(D).

The questions Central Florida E-2 applicants are most commonly asked at adjudication

Whether the case is processed at a consulate abroad or as a change of status with USCIS, the recurring questions on Central Florida E-2 files are: (a) Where did the capital come from? — expect to walk through the funding trail step by step, with every wire matching a bank record. (b) Why this business, why Florida? — a market-and-location rationale that ties the franchise to the local economy lands better than generic answers. (c) How will the business generate more than a living for you and your family? — the marginality test in 9 FAM 402.9-7 is the most frequent E-2 sticking point on smaller franchise filings, and a credible hiring plan is the usual answer. (d) Who is running day-to-day operations? — the develop-and-direct requirement under 9 FAM 402.9-8 means the principal investor needs to show real managerial control, not a passive role. For consular cases the interview itself is typically short, but only after a heavy document file is in front of the officer; for change-of-status filings, Requests for Evidence on the same four topics are routine.

Realistic timeline from filing to approval

Two paths, two timelines. Consular processing through the U.S. embassy in the applicant’s home country usually runs 3 to 6 months from the day the DS-160 and DS-156E packet is submitted to the interview, plus a few weeks for visa issuance and travel — assuming no administrative processing. Change of status filed inside the United States as an I-129 with USCIS currently runs longer at regular processing (often 6 to 9 months), but premium processing is available on Form I-907 and brings the adjudication clock to 15 business days. For full background and the policy framework USCIS applies, the USCIS E-2 treaty investor page and the State Department 9 FAM 402.9 are the authoritative references we work from on every Central Florida file.