Fresh Restrictions for E-2 visa candidates for Citizenship via Investment
Significant alterations and changes shall be made to the E” immigration visa as assured by The National Defence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7776/NDAA). This fresh bell was signed and included in law by U.S. President Joe Biden on December 23, 2022, and launched the following first-hand policies.
• Portugal is now regarded as an E-treaty nation.
• Those who have obtained their citizenship from an E-treaty nation via making a financial investment should have a residence in that nation for a constant span of 3 years before applying for their E non-immigrant visa.
There has been much talk about the growing investment potential in an E-2 treaty nation among overseas investors who belong to a non-Etreaty country. These individuals are interested in U.S. citizenship or permanent residency in the United States of America.
Some of the greatest non-E-treaty nations are China, India, Russia, and Brazil. Presently there are more than 140 nations around the world that are providing citizenship via investment. For instance, a passport to Grenada can be issued in just five months in return for a government donation or even a real estate acquisition amounting to USD 150,000.
The wait times for some of these nations are less than U.S. immigration time as their requirement is minimal. By gaining citizenships from Grenada, Turkey, or Montenegro with somewhat shorter processing time, many of the overseas investors from China or India have used their secondary citizenships with a treaty country to apply for E-2 residency in the U.S.
• Many of them even apply for an E-2 visa while waiting to process their visas which is the EB-5 residence of the United States. An E-2 visa can be defined as a temporary non-immigrant visa that permits an overseas nation to move to the U.S. if they agree to make a proper capital-based investment in the U.S.
Most of these changes are for investors from non-E-treaty nations as the bill can strictly limit the CBI program need in E-2 treaty countries. Many investors choose this visa because an E-2 visa has a shorter processing time than an EB-5 visa. • To apply for this visa, the CBI investors shall need to reside in an E2-treaty nation for three years before applying for this program or any other visa, which is E-non-immigrant one. This is why now, those who had previously thought of applying for an E-2 visa can rethink and apply for an EB-5 visa instead, as herein residency or Green cards can be obtained in 2 years.
