{"id":37628,"date":"2025-07-01T09:52:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T09:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/?p=37628"},"modified":"2025-07-01T09:57:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T09:57:27","slug":"how-sri-lankans-can-use-the-e-2-visa-to-build-a-business-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/how-sri-lankans-can-use-the-e-2-visa-to-build-a-business-in-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sri Lankans Can Use the E-2 Visa to Build a Business in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"37628\" class=\"elementor elementor-37628\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d2eec26 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d2eec26\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4c40f6ff\" data-id=\"4c40f6ff\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c5f1b52 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2c5f1b52\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The E\u20112 Treaty Investor Visa allows Sri Lankan citizens to live and work in the United States by investing in a qualifying U.S. business. Sri Lanka is eligible under a treaty of commerce and navigation, effective May 1, 1993, as confirmed by the U.S. Department of State.<\/p><h2>Why Sri Lankans are well positioned<\/h2><p>Strong bilateral trade and investment<\/p><p>Sri Lanka and the United States maintain an active economic dialogue through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), both countries meet regularly to discuss investment, innovation, and private-sector growth. Their 2023 meeting emphasized cooperation in digital services, agriculture, clean energy, and logistics. These are sectors in which Sri Lankan entrepreneurs are already active.<\/p><p>\u201cThe two sides agreed to deepen bilateral engagement on promoting investment and business-enabling environments.\u201d \u2014 USTR<\/p><p><strong>U.S. Embassy and business support<\/strong><\/p><p>The U.S. Embassy in Colombo processes E-2 visa applications and supports commercial ties in both directions. It offers resources for Sri Lankan businesses exploring U.S. opportunities, particularly those seeking growth in high-demand sectors.<\/p><h2>Who can qualify?<\/h2><p>To apply for an E\u20112 visa, Sri Lankan nationals must:<\/p><ul><li>Be a\u00a0citizen of Sri Lanka<\/li><li>Invest a substantial amount in a U.S. business (commonly USD 100,000+)<\/li><li>Direct and develop the business actively<\/li><li>Own at least 50 percent of the company or hold operational control<\/li><li>Show the business will generate real income and create jobs<\/li><li>Demonstrate intent to return when the visa ends<\/li><\/ul><h2>Ideal business sectors<\/h2><p>The most promising industries reflect both national strengths and global demand:<\/p><ul><li>IT and outsourcing services, which generated over USD 1.5 billion in Sri Lankan exports last year<\/li><li>Tea and food products, with tea exports alone valued at USD 1.4 billion in 2024<\/li><li>Clean energy ventures, supported by a USD 150 million World Bank program<\/li><li>Healthcare and wellness services, aligned with TIFA priorities<\/li><li>Franchise businesses, including food, retail, and education<\/li><\/ul><p>These sectors meet E-2 visa standards and allow Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to apply their expertise in U.S. markets.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Sources<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) \u2013 Sri Lanka TIFA Overview<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/countries-regions\/south-central-asia\/sri-lanka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>https:\/\/ustr.gov\/countries-regions\/south-central-asia\/sri-lanka<\/u><\/a><\/li><li>U.S. Embassy Colombo \u2013 TIFA Council Meeting Statement (14th TIFA, 2023)<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/lk.usembassy.gov\/joint-statement-on-the-14th-u-s-sri-lanka-trade-and-investment-framework-agreement-tifa-council-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>https:\/\/lk.usembassy.gov\/joint-statement-on-the-14th-u-s-sri-lanka-trade-and-investment-framework-agreement-tifa-council-meeting\/<\/u><\/a><\/li><li>Sri Lanka Export Development Board \u2013 ICT\/BPM Sector Performance<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.srilankabusiness.com\/national-export-strategy\/nes-ict-bpm-progress.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>https:\/\/www.srilankabusiness.com\/national-export-strategy\/nes-ict-bpm-progress.html<\/u><\/a><\/li><li>Sri Lanka Export Development Board \u2013 Tea Export Data<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.srilankabusiness.com\/tea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>https:\/\/www.srilankabusiness.com\/tea\/<\/u><\/a><\/li><li>Xinhua News Agency \u2013 2024 Tea Export Performance<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/english.news.cn\/20250130\/77c0956786584cb9b5a9ebf9ffdaa185\/c.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>https:\/\/english.news.cn\/20250130\/77c0956786584cb9b5a9ebf9ffdaa185\/c.html<\/u><\/a><\/li><li>World Bank \u2013 Clean Energy Support for Sri Lanka (2025)<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/press-release\/2025\/06\/20\/world-bank-group-to-support-sri-lanka-s-clean-energy-transition-with-150-million-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/press-release\/2025\/06\/20\/world-bank-group-to-support-sri-lanka-s-clean-energy-transition-with-150-million-program<\/u><\/a><\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The E\u20112 Treaty Investor Visa allows Sri Lankan citizens to live and work in the United States by investing in  [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[410],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-e-2-visa"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37628"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37641,"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37628\/revisions\/37641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immigrationbusinessplan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}