E-2 Visa Approval Rate and Statistics: Official FY2024 Data

The U.S. Department of State issued 55,324 E-2 visas in fiscal year 2024, with Japan, South Korea and Canada the largest nationalities. Its issuance statistics do not include an official E-2 refusal rate, so any E-2 “approval rate” quoted online is an estimate rather than an official number. The count also includes employees and family members, not just investors, and it leaves out USCIS approvals inside the United States.

This page summarizes the official FY2024 numbers, explains what they do and do not show, and covers what actually drives approval in an individual case.

Is there an official E-2 visa approval rate?

No. The State Department table of nonimmigrant visas issued by nationality reports how many visas were issued in each class. It does not report how many E-2 applications were refused in that table, so you cannot compute an official approval rate from it. When a website quotes an “official” E-2 refusal percentage, ask where the denominator came from.

Three more limits are worth knowing:

• Issuance includes everyone in E-2 class. Principal investors, E-2 employees, spouses and children all receive E-2 visas, so the count is much larger than the number of investors.
• USCIS approvals are not included. Changes of status and extensions approved on Form I-129 inside the U.S. grant E-2 status but no visa, so they do not appear in the table.
• Issuance includes repeat visas. A returning E-2 holder who gets a new visa at a consulate is counted again in the year of issue.

How many E-2 visas were issued in FY2024?

Category	FY2024 visas issued
E-2 treaty investor class (investors, employees, family)	55,324
E-1 treaty trader class	5,639
E-1 and E-2 combined	60,963

E-2 visas made up about 91% of all E-class treaty visas issued in FY2024.

E-2 visas by region, FY2024

Region	E-2 visas issued	Share of total
Asia	27,159	49.1%
Europe	17,272	31.2%
North America	8,507	15.4%
South America	1,732	3.1%
Oceania	526	1.0%
Africa	124	0.2%

Regional figures are as published by the State Department; shares are calculated against the 55,324 total. Asia accounts for almost half of all E-2 visas, driven mostly by Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Top E-2 nationalities in FY2024

Rank	Nationality	E-2 visas issued	Share of total
1	Japan	15,521	28.1%
2	Korea (South)	6,778	12.3%
3	Canada	6,747	12.2%
4	Germany	3,902	7.1%
5	France	3,574	6.5%
6	Taiwan	2,921	5.3%
7	United Kingdom	2,720	4.9%
8	Italy	1,531	2.8%
9	Mexico	1,514	2.7%
10	Spain	1,438	2.6%
11	Turkey	697	1.3%
12	Argentina	675	1.2%
13	Israel	657	1.2%
14	Colombia	623	1.1%
15	Thailand	490	0.9%
16	Sweden	444	0.8%
17	Australia	385	0.7%
18	Netherlands	363	0.7%
19	Denmark	292	0.5%
20	Austria	268	0.5%
21	Belgium	231	0.4%
22	Switzerland	218	0.4%
23	Poland	181	0.3%
24	Ireland	180	0.3%
25	Chile	170	0.3%
26	Ukraine	157	0.3%
27	Pakistan	147	0.3%
28	New Zealand	141	0.3%

Source: State Department, Nonimmigrant Visas Issued by Nationality, FY2024. Shares are our calculation. Together these 28 nationalities account for about 96% of all E-2 visas issued.

What the nationality numbers tell you

• Concentration. Japan, South Korea and Canada together account for more than half of all E-2 visas.
• Not just individual investors. The table does not split investors from employees and family members. Countries with large corporate investment in the U.S., such as Japan, Korea and Germany, send many E-2 managers and essential employees, and those employees and their families are part of the counts.
• Newer treaty partners. Israel (E-2 since May 1, 2019) and New Zealand (since June 10, 2019) already appear in the table. Portugal joined on March 15, 2024, so FY2024 reflects only part of a year. See the treaty countries list and our Portugal E-2 guide.

Why non-treaty countries appear in E-2 statistics

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 receive E-2 derivative status regardless of their own nationality. A Japanese investor’s Brazilian spouse, for example, receives an E-2 visa and is counted under Brazil. That is why non-treaty nationalities show small numbers, such as Brazil with 141 and mainland China with 136. These figures do not mean investors from those countries qualify. Citizens of countries such as India, Brazil and mainland China cannot be E-2 investors on their own nationality; see E-2 for non-treaty nationals and E-2 spouse and children.

How to read these numbers for your own plans

The State Department counts visas by fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30, so FY2024 covers October 2023 through September 2024. The nationality table counts each visa under the applicant’s own nationality, not the investor’s, which is why family members can appear under non-treaty countries.

Use the figures for context, not prediction:

• A high count for your country shows that the E-2 route is well used by your fellow nationals, not that approval is easier.
• A low count may reflect a smaller treaty partner, a newer treaty or fewer family members, not stricter officers.
• Year-to-year changes can follow corporate hiring cycles, consular capacity and policy changes as much as investor demand.

For news on rule changes that can affect future numbers, see our E-2 visa news page.

What drives E-2 approval in practice

Statistics describe the whole population. Your case depends on whether it meets the requirements in the Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 402.9-6). In our experience the cases that go smoothly share these features:

Factor	What strong cases show
Treaty nationality and ownership	Citizenship of a treaty country; treaty nationals own at least 50%
Investment	Proportional to the total cost of the business, spent or irrevocably committed, at risk
Source of funds	A lawful source with a complete paper trail into the U.S. account
Real business	A lease, licenses, vendors and staff, or an acquired business already trading
Not marginal	A five-year plan showing income beyond a minimal living, or a significant economic contribution
Develop and direct	Ownership of at least 50% or operational control, and a clear management role
Consistency	The same numbers in the forms, the business plan and the bank records
Intent	A clear intent to depart when E-2 status ends

Where cases fail, the cause is usually one of these, most often marginality, uncommitted funds or a weak source-of-funds trail. See E-2 denial reasons and the full E-2 visa requirements.

Our track record

Businesses we built supported a 99% E-2 approval rate (filings by independent partner attorneys).*

This reflects our own client work, not a national statistic, and selection plays a part: we decline businesses and funding structures that we do not believe can meet the standard.

*Visa filings by independent partner attorneys. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Next steps

Statistics cannot tell you whether your case will be approved; your business and your evidence can. Check your basics with the E-2 eligibility checker, size a credible investment with the investment calculator, or book a consultation to review your plans.