Getting a US mortgage on an E-2 investor visa

What the E-2 is

The E-2 treaty investor visa is for nationals of countries that have a qualifying treaty with the United States. You must have invested, or be actively investing, a substantial amount of capital in a genuine US business, and you come to develop and direct it. The initial stay is up to two years, extensions are granted two years at a time, and there is no limit on how many you can have. Your spouse is authorised to work.

Most Europeans qualify by nationality. The United Kingdom and 23 of the 27 EU countries are on the State Department's list for the E-2. Cyprus, Hungary and Malta are not on it at all, and Greece has only the related E-1 trader category. Portugal joined in March 2024. Our country comparison shows every country's position.

The house is not the investment

This is the most common misunderstanding. The E-2 requires capital placed at risk in an operating business. A home is not a business, however much it costs, and buying one neither supports the application nor gives any right to stay.

It follows that an E-2 move needs two separate pots of money: the investment in the company, and the down payment and closing costs for the home. A lender will ask where the down payment comes from and will want to see that it is yours and not owed to anyone.

Why the mortgage is harder than on an employer visa

On an H-1B or L-1 you arrive with a salary from an established employer. On an E-2 you arrive as the owner of a business that may be weeks old. Under the rules most lenders follow, they must qualify you on income they can document and reasonably expect to continue, and non-citizens meet the same standards as citizens. A new company's profits are difficult to document to that standard.

Income you still receive from Europe is not an easy substitute. Fannie Mae's rules require two years of signed US federal tax returns before foreign income paid in foreign currency can be counted.

E-2 owners typically end up on one of four routes:

• The partner's income. A spouse with a US job has income a lender can count in the usual way.
• Waiting. Renting for the first year or two while the business builds a record of US tax returns.
• A larger down payment. Borrowing less against documented assets.
• A loan outside the standard rules. Some lenders offer loans that are not sold to Fannie Mae and are assessed on assets or on bank statements. They follow the lender's own criteria and usually cost more. See foreign national and non-standard loans.

Renewal and the lender's view of the future

An E-2 is granted for two years at a time. Fannie Mae's guide says nothing specific about visa expiry and leaves the question of legal presence to the lender. Where income has a defined end date, the lender must be able to document that it will continue for three years, and lenders vary in how they read a two-year status against that. Go in with evidence that the business is trading and that renewal is realistic: accounts, tax filings, payroll and contracts.

A special rule for British nationals

The treaty with the United Kingdom dates from 1815 and is narrower than most. It covers British territory in Europe, namely the British Isles apart from the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, and people who actually and permanently live there and are domiciled there. The applicant must also be a UK national. A British citizen who has lived in France or Portugal for years may therefore not qualify through the UK treaty. Check with an immigration attorney early.

Tax residence

An E-2 holder living and working in the United States normally becomes a US tax resident under the substantial presence test, and is then taxed on worldwide income. That includes profits, pensions and rental income still arising in Europe. Plan the structure of the business and of anything you keep at home with a cross-border tax adviser before you move.

Questions people moving from Europe ask

Continue your research

• US mortgage on a work visa: H-1B, L-1 and O-1
• Foreign national loans: US mortgages for buyers living in Europe
• How much down payment and cash you need for a US home
• Buying a US home from the UK or the EU
• Start a personal US mortgage scan