E-2 Visa for Canadians in 2024: APPLICATION PROCESS UPDATE

Hi there! My name is Ben Frear, and I’m an immigration lawyer who focuses on helping entrepreneurs. It’s truly a pleasure to assist Canadian entrepreneurs interested in setting up shop here in the States.

If you’re a Canadian citizen considering applying for the E-2 visa in 2024 or 2025, there’s an important policy update I want to share with you.

Canadian citizens currently must apply for the E-2 visa through the US consulate in Toronto. They’ve recently updated their requirements for the initial application. If you check their website, you’ll see that the maximum page limit has been reduced from 70 to 50 pages. However, this limit doesn’t include certain documents like the DS-160 confirmation pages, civil documents such as birth and marriage certificates, the investor’s passport copy, forms G-28 and DS-156E, and section/exhibit dividers.

Why the Change?

So, why the change? It’s likely an attempt to make the review process more efficient. With a 50-page limit, applicants and their lawyers must be more selective about the documents they present. This should help US consular officers review more applications, hopefully resulting in shorter interview wait times — which are already short compared to other high volume consular posts.

While this change might streamline things for consular officers and speed up the process, it also presents a new challenge for applicants and their lawyers. As Mark Twain once said, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one.” This sums up the difficulty of deciding what to include in the application.

Three Steps to Handle Page Limits

Here are three steps I take when dealing with these page limits:

1. Prepare an Extended Version: I create a comprehensive version of the application that I don’t intend to submit. This helps because there might be additional documents requested later. With this extended version, I have all necessary documents ready to go if a request for evidence comes up.

2. Cut Redundant Documents: After preparing the extended version, I look for documents that serve the same purpose and choose the best one. For instance, to show that the investor owns at least 50% of the business, there are various documents like articles of organization, initial resolutions, share certificates, etc. Instead of submitting all of them, I pick the most effective one.

3. Leave Notes for Consular Officers: Throughout the application, I leave notes informing consular officers that additional documents are available upon request. For example, while we provide US company account statements to show expenses and invoices for major purchases, we can’t submit everything due to the page limit. So, I leave a note indicating that additional receipts or invoices are available for review. The same goes for lengthy documents like commercial leases; instead of submitting the entire document, we present a sample and note that the full document is available.

By taking these steps, I can usually meet the page limit requirements while still providing enough information to show the applicant’s qualifications for the visa.

Final Thoughts: E-2 Visa for Canadians in 2024

I hope this information is helpful. Keep in mind that this is not intended as legal advice. If you’re considering the E-2 visa, I recommend reaching out to one of the many excellent E-2 visa lawyers worldwide who can provide guidance tailored to your unique situation.

Thanks so much for reading, and best of luck as you explore your US visa options!