E-2 Visa for Romanian Citizens: Treaty Eligibility, Requirements, and Applying in Bucharest

The legal foundation for E-2 eligibility is a qualifying bilateral treaty between the applicant's country of nationality and the United States. Romania qualifies under the Treaty Between the United States of America and Romania Concerning the Reciprocal Encouragement and Protection of Investment, signed in 1992 and entered into force in 1994. The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual, at 9 FAM 402.9-4(B)(1), identifies qualifying treaty instruments, and Romania appears on the Department's current E-2 treaty country list.

Nationality for E-2 purposes means citizenship, not permanent residency. A Romanian permanent resident who does not hold Romanian citizenship cannot satisfy the nationality requirement under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B)(5). A Romanian citizen who also holds citizenship in a non-treaty country — such as China or India — may still apply using Romanian nationality. The passport presented at the U.S. Embassy and at the port of entry should be the Romanian passport, and the U.S. enterprise must be at least 50 percent owned by Romanian nationals.

Romanian citizens who have also naturalized in another E-2 treaty country have the option to apply using either nationality. Using the Romanian passport and applying at the Bucharest Embassy is straightforward when the investor's primary ties are Romanian, but an immigration attorney should advise on the choice of nationality and consular post if dual citizenship is in play.

Nationality satisfies only the gateway requirement. Romanian nationals must also satisfy the four substantive requirements that apply to every E-2 applicant under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(2) and 9 FAM 402.9-4(B). First, the investor must have invested, or be actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide U.S. enterprise. Second, the invested capital must be at risk — committed to the enterprise and subject to partial or total loss if the business fails. Third, the enterprise must not be marginal — it must have present or prospective capacity to generate income substantially beyond what is needed to provide a minimal living for the investor and family. Fourth, the investor must be entering the United States solely to develop and direct the enterprise.

The substantiality of the investment is evaluated using the proportionality test under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B)(2): the investment must be substantial in relation to the total cost of establishing or acquiring the enterprise, on an inverse sliding scale. For a lower-cost business with total startup costs of $120,000, an investment representing 70 to 80 percent of that figure is expected. For a business acquisition priced at $700,000, a lower percentage — perhaps 35 to 40 percent — may suffice. The business plan must itemize the total cost of the enterprise and tie the invested amount to documented expenditures.

The at-risk requirement under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B)(3) means the capital must be irrevocably committed to the enterprise. Funds in a personal savings account designated for a future business do not satisfy this standard. Capital qualifies as at risk when it has been spent on business formation costs, placed in a conditioned escrow account, used to pay a lease deposit, or otherwise committed in a way that subjects it to commercial risk of loss.

• Substantial investment: proportional to total enterprise cost, on an inverse sliding scale
• At risk: capital irrevocably committed, not freely retrievable by the investor
• Bona fide enterprise: an active commercial business, not a passive investment vehicle
• Non-marginal: present or prospective capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor
• Develop and direct: investor must own at least 50 percent or hold documented operational control

Romanian nationals applying for an E-2 visa typically do so at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest through the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit. The process begins with Form DS-160, which must be completed online and fully submitted before an appointment can be scheduled. The MRV visa application fee and the applicable treaty visa issuance reciprocity fee must be paid before the interview.

The E-2 interview in Bucharest is a substantive eligibility review. The consular officer will examine the business plan, source-of-funds documentation, evidence that the capital is at risk, the entity's governance documents, and the investor's qualifications to operate the enterprise. Officers apply the same substantive standards as adjudicators at any other post worldwide. A business plan that does not address the marginality requirement, or source-of-funds documentation with unexplained gaps, will be denied regardless of the investor's professional background.

Processing times fluctuate by season and application volume. Applicants should check current appointment availability through the Embassy's scheduling system and allow additional time for complex business structures or unusual sources of funds. The State Department does not offer premium processing for E-2 applications. If the officer requires additional information after the interview, the application enters administrative processing under INA § 221(g); responding promptly and completely is critical to avoiding extended delays.

Under 9 FAM 402.9-4(C)(3), the investor must trace the origin of investment funds and demonstrate that they were lawfully obtained. For Romanian investors, this typically means providing documentation of prior employment income, proceeds from the sale of Romanian real estate or a Romanian business, accumulated savings held in Romanian banks, or a combination of these sources.

Romanian bank statements should be submitted with accurate English translations. Romanian financial institutions issue statements formatted differently from U.S. bank records, and the investor should not assume the reviewing officer reads Romanian. For investors who draw funds from multiple Romanian institutions, each account must be documented separately. The goal is a clear, traceable chain from the documented source to the funds committed to the U.S. enterprise.

Romanian tax documentation — the annual income tax return (Declaratia unica) and, for business owners, company financial statements (bilant contabil) — is important evidence that income was reported and taxed in Romania. If funds come from the sale of Romanian real estate, the application package should include the notarized sale contract (contract de vanzare-cumparare), the land registry excerpt (extras de carte funciara) confirming prior ownership, and bank records showing receipt of the proceeds. For loans used to fund part of the investment, only loans secured by the investor's personal assets — not by the U.S. business assets — satisfy the at-risk requirement under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(12).

For a Romanian investor who owns 100 percent of the U.S. enterprise, the nationality requirement is satisfied straightforwardly. Complications arise in co-investor structures. If a Romanian investor has a co-investor who is a U.S. citizen or a national of a non-treaty country, and that co-investor holds more than 50 percent of the enterprise, the enterprise fails the nationality test under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B)(4). The Romanian investor in that situation cannot qualify as the E-2 investor-owner, though they might qualify as an E-2 treaty employee if the majority owner is also a Romanian national.

The U.S. enterprise's LLC operating agreement must clearly document ownership percentages and the investor's management authority. The operating agreement should name the Romanian investor as managing member and give them clear authority over day-to-day operations — signing contracts, hiring employees, entering leases, managing bank accounts. A 50/50 co-ownership structure creates a controlling-interest problem because neither partner holds majority control under 9 FAM 402.9-8(A); the fix is either adjusting to at least 51/49 or drafting the agreement to give one member a documented tie-breaking vote over operational decisions.

Generic LLC operating agreement templates are usually inadequate for E-2 purposes because they lack the specific control provisions officers look for and often contain supermajority voting requirements that undercut the investor's claimed authority. The operating agreement should be reviewed by an immigration attorney before the application is filed.

A Romanian national in the United States in a valid nonimmigrant status — F-1, H-1B, B-1/B-2, or others — may apply to change status to E-2 without departing the country by filing Form I-129 with the E supplement. USCIS reviews the same substantive requirements as a consular post: business plan, investment evidence, source of funds, entity formation documents.

A USCIS-approved change of status creates valid E-2 status for the period stated in the approval notice but does not produce a visa stamp. If the investor departs the United States after the USCIS approval, they cannot re-enter in E-2 status without first obtaining an E-2 visa stamp at the Bucharest Embassy or another qualifying consular post. Romanian nationals who entered on ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program are ineligible to change status to E-2 from within the United States under 8 CFR 248.2(a) and must apply for the visa stamp at a consulate.

The validity period of the E-2 visa stamp issued to Romanian nationals is set by the State Department's reciprocity schedule based on what Romania grants U.S. citizens for comparable categories. Applicants should confirm current terms on the State Department's online reciprocity table before applying, as terms can change. The visa stamp validity and the period of authorized stay in the United States are distinct: the I-94 record issued at the port of entry controls the authorized status period, which is typically two years per admission regardless of the stamp's expiration date.

E-2 status can be extended without limit as long as the enterprise continues to satisfy all E-2 requirements. There is no statutory cap on renewals or on the total time a Romanian national may remain in E-2 status. To extend status inside the United States, the investor files Form I-129 before the current I-94 expires; premium processing on Form I-907 is available for 15-business-day adjudication. To renew the visa stamp for international travel, the investor applies at the Bucharest Embassy with current evidence of the operating enterprise.

The spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a Romanian E-2 principal investor are eligible for E-2 dependent status (E-2D). Dependents need not share Romanian nationality. Since October 2021, E-2 spouses have been eligible to apply for employment authorization by filing Form I-765 with USCIS after entering in E-2D status. The Employment Authorization Document (EAD) allows the spouse to work for any U.S. employer in any industry. Processing currently takes approximately two to five months depending on the USCIS service center. Children in E-2D status may attend U.S. schools but may not work; a child who turns 21 ages out of the classification.

The E-2 visa does not lead directly to a green card. Romanian E-2 investors who wish to pursue permanent residency typically do so through the EB-5 immigrant investor program, which has separate investment minimums (currently $1,050,000, or $800,000 in a targeted employment area) and requires creation of at least 10 full-time positions for U.S. workers. Romanian nationals with extraordinary professional achievement may also qualify for EB-1A or O-1A classification. An immigration attorney should evaluate the available pathways based on the investor's specific circumstances and business performance.