VIBE, Employee Count and Non-Cash Investment - Gentle Reminder
Remember that USCIS and consulates do check the existence of US business entities in VIBE. I would post the US gvt. website link here but.i understand reddit doesn't allow website links in postings. It is worth checking your US business is in VIBE before you apply. You can google "USCIS Vibe" you will find it. Or ask.
While clearly allowed by the law, somewhat to my surprise, we also just had a case approved in London a few days ago with 0 employees, other than the investor. There was a future (but not immediate) hiring plan. The client may be willing to discuss the case with anyone interested. Much of the investment came in the form of inventory purchased by the UK entity in China and transferred to the US E-2 visa entity.
Does anyone have other examples of recent E2 visa cases with 0 employees? If so what consulate?
This reminded me of the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) and investment. FAM is manual issued by the US State Dept. for its consular staff. FAM is available online.
It is crystal clear that investment does not have to be cash and can include things like equipment, inventory, deposits into escrow accounts dedicated to paying for business operational costs (thereby avoiding the risk of depleting cash before an E2 is approved) and licenses (useful for capitalizing brands for E2 investment purposes).