Here Are Five Unique Businesses Whose Owners Qualified for the E-2 Visa

Thanks to the E-2 visa, many foreign entrepreneurs and founders can build a business in the U.S. To qualify, the government requires you to meet a few requirements, including being a national from a treaty country, having a real, substantial investment in your enterprise, that your company supports more than just you and your family, and that you must be coming to direct and develop the enterprise.

But neither U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) nor the State Department does list what kinds of businesses can qualify for an E-2 visa, and for clients of Lahaina Araneta McBeth, this represents an opportunity. 

“A lot of people get hung up about what kind of establishments they can open up in the U.S., but the law doesn’t really constrain you by industry,” McBeth, a Manifest Law immigration attorney, says. “Really, what USCIS actually wants to see is evidence. That’s a well-documented investment, a legitimate operational structure, and a credible path to revenue that goes beyond supporting the investor alone.”

As long as they meet those requirements, people can get creative with their business ideas. To illustrate the point, below are five businesses whose owners received an approval for an E-2 visa with the help of McBeth’s legal advice. 

A YouTube content creation team

Running a popular YouTube channel comes with several costs. Things like camera equipment, video production costs, and marketing can all count towards the E-2 investment threshold. However, McBeth notes that this all has to be documented thoroughly.

“YouTube channels can risk seeming marginal, so I always tell clients to keep invoices, receipts, and paid marketing plans at hand when pursuing an E-2,” she says. “When you’re building a business plan for USCIS, that kind of evidence is exactly what reviewers want to see.”

Content businesses scale visibly, and a well-documented channel with real production infrastructure makes for a compelling application. YouTube analytics can be used to provide a clear picture of growth, ad revenue creates a documented income stream, and brand deals come with contracts.

An Airbnb arbitrage business

Unlike landlords, arbitrage operators don’t own real estate. Instead, they lease apartments, furnish them, and list them on hospitality platforms for guests to stay at. McBeth says that the entire model is built on documented, traceable spending, which makes it a great fit for an entrepreneur interested in the E-2 visa.

For instance, lease agreements, furnishing receipts, and prepaid operation costs can all add up to a large investment amount. Many people also underestimate how much it takes to manage multiple units at once, and a strong E-2 petition often includes evidence of staffing plans, operational processes, and booking systems used.

A specialty goods shop

In one E-2 case, McBeth worked with a small business owner who wanted to sell specialty spices and other seasonings online. They had experience working in the e-commerce space in their home country and wanted to expand their enterprise into the U.S.

From McBeth’s perspective, the client had a strong foundation for an E-2 application because their business had real costs at every stage: inventory, supplier contracts, marketing, and eventually a lease. The niche was unusual, but the documentation was solid, and that’s what carried the case.

McBeth has worked with a range of specialty goods sellers beyond that one client. Pokémon card dealers, vintage sneaker resellers, and military memorabilia collectors have all come through to her, seeking guidance on how to apply for the E-2 visa. To McBeth, the product category rarely matters. 

“What’s more important is that your business has genuine costs attached and a believable path to revenue, and for shops, that’s usually pretty easy to prove,” she says. “If you have the funds and evidence to prove those things, USCIS doesn’t care that you’re selling something that may not be universally popular.”

An alternative wellness center

In many E-2 cases, non-marginality remains one of the trickier requirements to satisfy because it often requires applicants to prove the business can generate revenue that can support more than just the investor and their family. McBeth says that most people think that means that only service-heavy businesses, such as restaurants, make good businesses for this visa, but that’s often not the case.

McBeth points to one of her latest clients as an example: a couples’ therapist seeking an E-2 visa to expand their practice in the U.S. At first glance, this might sound like a one-person job, but her client is able to qualify because she can show proof of a clear operational footprint. 

“[They] came to me with a lease for an office space, payrolls for front desk staff, and even the contractors they hired to do accounting for the business,” she says. “That was excellent proof.”

If your business plan requires some level of staff or contractor support, McBeth says it’s often one of the best ways to meet the non-marginality requirement.

An LGBTQ+ vegan ice cream shop

McBeth notes that restaurants are common business ventures for E-2 applicants, as running one requires significant upfront investments. Equipment, inventory, and even marketing can be used in a petition, as long as they are well-documented. The type of restaurant, as well as the clientele it serves, matters a lot less in the eyes of a reviewing officer. 

“It’s really not important if you’re trying to sell novelty cuisine or targeting a smaller clientele,” she says. “If you start a restaurant, there’s almost no way you’re not going to be able to prove you’ve invested significant funds up front.”

One of her past E-2 clients now runs an LGBTQ+ vegan ice cream shop, and they now generate half a million dollars in yearly revenue. It’s a useful data point because it illustrates something McBeth emphasizes in consultations: the businesses that look the least glamorous on the surface are often the ones with the strongest financial outcomes.

What all these businesses have in common

McBeth emphasizes that these business owners qualified for the E-2 because they could show proof of substantial investment, showcase a real operational structure that went beyond a one-person team, and offer documents that proved their company could generate more than a subsistence income for the investor.

“An E-2 business plan isn’t a pitch deck for investors,” she says. “It’s a document written according to statutory requirements and built to satisfy a government reviewer who may not be entirely familiar with the field you’re operating in.”

For many entrepreneurs and founders, this often requires the input of an experienced immigration attorney. McBeth emphasizes that if you’re thinking of pursuing an E-2 visa, seeking legal counsel can be especially helpful. 

About Lahaina Araneta McBeth, immigration attorney at Manifest Law

For over 12 years, Manifest immigration attorney Lahaina Araneta McBeth has worked with a wide variety of entrepreneurs seeking E-2 status. Every step of the way, she combines her legal expertise with a compassionate approach to ensure her clients feel supported.