E-2 Visa Document Checklist: What Goes in Your Embassy Package

An E-2 visa document package has to prove five things: you are a national of a treaty country, treaty nationals own and you control the U.S. business, you have invested a substantial amount that is spent or irrevocably committed, the money came from a lawful source, and the business is real and will be more than marginal. The checklist below organizes the evidence by category.

The State Department publishes its own suggested checklist in the Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 402.9-11(B)) and asks applicants to tab and index their documents. It is explicitly a guide, not a list of required documents. Each embassy also sets its own package format, so treat this page as a completeness check and your post’s instructions as the final word.

E-2 document checklist at a glance

Category	What it proves	Core documents
Forms and fees	Application is complete	DS-160 confirmations, fee receipts, appointment letter
Identity and nationality	Treaty citizenship	Passport, citizenship evidence, prior U.S. visas
Company formation	The enterprise exists	Formation documents, EIN, licenses, registrations
Ownership and control	50% treaty ownership; you develop and direct	Operating agreement or bylaws, share ledger, owner nationality
Investment	Substantial, at risk, committed	Bank statements, wires, invoices, lease, purchase or escrow papers
Source of funds	Lawful origin and path of money	Sale contracts, tax returns, gift or loan papers, bank trail
Business operations	Real and active, not marginal	Lease, payroll, contracts, sales records, photos
Business plan	Five-year viability and hiring	Plan with projections and staffing schedule
Personal ties and intent	Intent to depart when status ends	Signed statement of intent
Family members	Relationship to the principal	Marriage and birth certificates, DS-160s

1. Forms, fees and cover documents

• DS-160 confirmation page for every applicant, including spouse and children. As principal investor, you answer the E-specific questions inside your DS-160.
• DS-156E only if the applicant is an E-2 employee, manager or essential worker rather than the principal investor. Spouses and children do not file it. See our DS-156E guide.
• Visa fee receipt: $315 per applicant. Some nationalities also pay a reciprocity issuance fee on approval.
• Appointment confirmation and any post-specific cover sheet, application form or index.
• Cover letter or legal brief from your attorney summarizing how the case meets each requirement.

A full rundown of every form, including USCIS forms for change of status, is on our E-2 visa forms page.

2. Identity and treaty nationality

• Passport valid for travel, plus copies of prior U.S. visas and entry records
• Passport photograph meeting State Department specifications
• Proof of treaty citizenship: passport, citizenship certificate or naturalization certificate
• If citizenship was acquired by investment and you were not previously in E status: evidence of at least three continuous years of domicile in the treaty country
• Proof of legal residence in the country where you apply, if it is not your country of nationality
• Resume or CV showing relevant management and industry experience
• Prior U.S. immigration history: I-94 records, approvals, any refusals

Remember that nationality means citizenship, not residence. A long-term residence permit in a treaty country does not qualify you.

3. Company formation documents

• Certificate of formation or articles of incorporation, with amendments
• IRS EIN confirmation letter
• State registrations: foreign qualification if formed in another state, sales tax permit, state employer accounts
• Business licenses and permits for the industry and city
• Registered agent and business address
• Business bank account opening documents

4. Ownership and control

• Operating agreement (LLC) or bylaws and shareholder agreement (corporation)
• Membership ledger or stock certificates showing every owner’s percentage
• Nationality evidence for every owner, to show at least 50% ownership by treaty nationals. Shares held by U.S. green card holders do not count toward treaty ownership.
• Organizational chart showing your position
• Resolutions or consents appointing you as manager, director or officer
• Documents you signed for the company: lease, contracts, bank signature card
• If a foreign company owns the U.S. business: the parent’s formation and ownership records

Ownership splits matter. A 50/50 split between two investors can qualify through negative control, but three or more equal partners usually cannot. See E-2 ownership rules.

5. Investment evidence

• U.S. business bank statements from account opening to the most recent month
• Wire confirmations from your personal or foreign accounts into the business
• Investment summary table reconciling every expense to bank records and the business plan
• Signed commercial lease, deposit receipt and rent payments
• Invoices and proof of payment for equipment, inventory, vehicles, build-out, software and marketing
• Franchise agreement and proof of franchise fee payment, if applicable
• For an acquisition: purchase agreement, closing statement, escrow agreement with release conditions, and valuation or appraisal
• Loan agreements, if any of the investment is borrowed, showing personal liability and collateral that is not the business’s own assets

The Foreign Affairs Manual is clear that funds must be at risk and irrevocably committed; money held in an account is not enough on its own. A purchase held in escrow until the visa is issued can still count. Our minimum investment guide explains the proportionality test officers apply.

6. Source of funds

• A short narrative explaining each source, amount, date and path into the U.S. account
• Personal bank statements showing how funds accumulated and moved
• Employment income: contracts, payslips, tax returns
• Sale of property: title, sale contract, closing statement, receipt of proceeds
• Sale of a business or shares: sale agreement, corporate records, receipt of proceeds
• Business income or dividends: company financial statements, tax returns, distribution records
• Gift: signed gift letter, donor’s identity and the donor’s own source of funds
• Inheritance: will, probate or estate documents, receipt of funds
• Personal loans: loan agreement, collateral evidence, lender identity
• Currency exchange records reconciling foreign amounts to U.S. dollars

Any lawful source works, and the funds do not have to come from abroad, but the officer must be able to follow the money. See our E-2 source of funds guide.

7. Business operations: proof the enterprise is real

• Photos of premises, signage, equipment and inventory
• Website, marketing materials and advertising invoices
• Customer contracts, purchase orders, invoices and sales records
• Supplier and vendor agreements
• Payroll records, employment agreements, offer letters, W-2 or 1099 forms
• Business insurance policies
• Utility bills and other operating expenses
• For an existing business: prior tax returns, financial statements and payroll records, plus the seller’s transition or training agreement

The FAM does not require physical office space, but it does require a real, active commercial enterprise. Evidence that customers, vendors and staff exist is the most persuasive way to show it.

8. Business plan

• Five-year business plan with executive summary, market analysis, marketing and operations plans
• Management section showing how you develop and direct the company
• Hiring plan with positions, timing and wages
• Five-year financial projections with stated assumptions
• Use-of-funds table that matches the investment evidence

The FAM’s own checklist mentions financial projections for the next five years supported by a thorough business plan. See E-2 business plan requirements or our business plan service.

9. Personal ties and intent to depart

• Signed statement that you intend to leave the U.S. when your E-2 status ends

The E-2 rules are lighter here than for visitor visas. The FAM says an unequivocal statement of intent to depart is normally sufficient, and you do not need to keep a home abroad. If you have a pending immigrant petition, discuss it with your attorney first.

10. Family members

• DS-160 confirmation and fee receipt for each family member
• Passports and photographs
• Marriage certificate for a spouse
• Birth certificates for children under 21
• Certified translations of civil documents

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 qualify for E-2 derivative status regardless of their own nationality. Each family member still needs their own passport and DS-160.

Package format: follow your embassy’s instructions

Many embassies require a specific package format, and some reject or delay packages that ignore it. London is a well-known example: its E-visa unit publishes detailed instructions on document order, tabbing and submission. Other posts specify upload portals, page limits or file-size caps, or ask for a particular cover form.

Practical rules that apply almost everywhere:

• Tab and index every exhibit, and reference the tab numbers in the cover letter. The FAM checklist itself asks applicants to tab, index and highlight key figures.
• Use the same numbers everywhere: investment total, ownership split and hiring targets must match across the DS-160, the business plan, the investment summary and the bank statements.
• Provide certified English translations for every foreign-language document.
• Keep scans legible and within the post’s file-size limits.
• Update bank statements and operations evidence close to the filing date.

Gaps we often see in self-prepared packages

• Business bank statements that stop months before filing
• An investment summary that does not match the plan’s use-of-funds table
• Source of funds shown by a bank balance letter instead of transaction records
• Ownership documents that do not add up to 100% or omit owners’ nationality
• Missing translations for foreign tax returns and property records
• A lease or franchise agreement that is “about to be signed”

How we help

We build the business side of the package: entity records, the investment summary, source-of-funds narrative, business plan and operating evidence, indexed and reconciled, and we coordinate with your attorney, who prepares and files the visa application. To see how this fits into the overall timeline, read the E-2 application process.

Next steps

Check whether your situation qualifies with the E-2 eligibility checker, then book a consultation if you want us to review your documents and identify gaps before your attorney files.