Investor Visas

Austin Investor Visa Attorney: E-2, EB-5, L-1, and EB-1C

Investor visas are how many foreign nationals come to the United States to run businesses, build companies, and put down roots. They are also among the most paperwork-intensive and unforgiving categories in immigration law. Kinzy Law has handled investor visa work for more than 20 years, alongside the business, real estate, and tax work that has to happen at the same time.

If you are exploring whether an investor visa is right for you, the first question is usually not legal at all. It is about what business you want to run, what capital you have, where it sits, and what your long-term goals are. The firm starts with those questions, then walks you through which category fits, and only then moves into filing.

The four categories below are the ones most investors use. Two are temporary (E-2 and L-1) and two lead to a green card (EB-5 and EB-1C). Several clients begin on a temporary visa and move to a green-card path once the U.S. business is established.

E-2 Treaty Investor – Temporary

The E-2 is the workhorse of investor immigration. It is available to nationals of countries that hold a qualifying treaty with the United States who are making a substantial investment in a U.S. business they will actively direct. There is no fixed dollar minimum, but the investment must be substantial relative to the business, it must be at risk, and the business must be more than marginal. E-2 status can be renewed indefinitely as long as the business continues to qualify, which makes it attractive for long-term U.S. residence without a green-card commitment.

E-2 cases are heavy on documentation: source of funds, business plan, lease, hiring projections, market analysis, and proof that the investor will actively direct the business. The firm has built E-2 cases across industries including franchise food service, professional services, hospitality, manufacturing, technology, and retail.

EB-5 Immigrant Investor – Green Card

EB-5 is the green-card path for foreign investors, and unlike the E-2 it is open to nationals of any country. It requires a qualifying investment, generally $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area or $1,050,000 elsewhere, subject to USCIS updates, that creates at least 10 full-time U.S. jobs. There are two main routes: direct investment in a business you control, or investment through a USCIS-approved Regional Center. The right choice depends on how actively you want to run the business, how passive you want the investment to be, and how the source of funds will be documented.

EB-5 is one of the most heavily scrutinized investor visas, and it is also a securities transaction. Source-of-funds documentation must trace every dollar through legitimate, taxed sources, often across several countries. The firm works with foreign accountants and counsel where appropriate to build the file, and treats diligence on the project and Regional Center as part of protecting the investment.

L-1 Intracompany Transferee – Temporary

The L-1 lets a foreign company transfer executives and managers (L-1A) or specialized-knowledge employees (L-1B) to a U.S. office. It suits established foreign businesses opening a U.S. office or expanding into the U.S. market, and L-1A is a common path toward EB-1C permanent residence for multinational executives.

L-1 cases turn on careful documentation of the qualifying relationship between the foreign and U.S. entities, the employee’s role abroad, and the role the employee will hold in the U.S. New-office L-1s, where the U.S. entity is newly formed, face additional scrutiny and a one-year initial approval that must be extended based on actual business activity.

EB-1C Multinational Executive or Manager – Green Card

EB-1C is the green-card category for multinational executives and managers. It does not require a specific investment amount, but it does require that the foreign company has done business abroad for at least one year and that the petitioning U.S. entity has operated for at least one year. It is often the natural next step for an L-1A executive who has built the U.S. operation up enough to qualify.

The requirement these cases most often turn on is that the U.S. role be genuinely managerial or executive, directing the organization or a major function of it, rather than a hands-on owner-operator role. Documenting that distinction carefully is where an EB-1C case is won or lost.

Investment thresholds, treaty-country lists, and program rules change and are indexed periodically. The figures here are general and current as of this writing; every matter is confirmed against the governing authority at the time of filing. A related path, the EB-3 immigrant category, is sometimes used during or after an E-2 as a route to a green card; see the Business & Employment Visas page for more.

What to Know Right Now

Investor and business-visa cases are under heightened federal scrutiny. Consular interviews are longer, source-of-funds documentation is examined more closely, renewals that once cleared routinely now draw questions, and enforcement against foreign nationals connected to U.S. investment projects has grown more aggressive. None of this makes a well-prepared case unwinnable, but it does raise the cost of a weak or rushed filing. A clean, fully documented application matters more than it did even a year ago. Attorneys who refer or co-counsel on investor matters can read our fuller briefing on the current climate on the E-2 & EB-5 page for referring and co-counsel attorneys.

One Firm, One Strategy, Documents That Line Up

Integrated Representation

The firm handles the immigration filing alongside U.S. entity formation, commercial lease review, employment documentation, franchise agreement review where relevant, and the source-of-funds package. One firm, one strategy, one set of documents that all line up, rather than three lawyers who never speak to each other.

Multilingual Capability

The firm serves investor clients in English, Spanish, Hindi, and Urdu, and has worked with investors from more than 80 countries over the course of the practice.

Honest Assessments

Investor visas are expensive and time-consuming. If a case has a real weakness, insufficient capital, undocumented funds, or a business that will struggle to qualify, you will hear it up front rather than see a case filed that is likely to fail.

Where Investor Visa Work Connects

Investor visa work sits at the intersection of immigration, business, and often real estate or franchise law. These pages cover the neighboring pieces.