E-2 Treaty Investor Visa Approved Despite Extended Parolee Status and Anticipated 214(b) Concerns

Jun 15, 2026

OUTCOME: The consulate approved the E-2 visa, allowing our client to move forward with developing their small business in the United States.

Our office recently secured the approval of an E-2 treaty investor visa for a client whose case presented a significant obstacle: the applicant had remained in the United States on parole for an extend ... ed period immediately before the consular interview. This history raised a risk that the consular officer would deny the case under INA Sec. 214(b), which presumes that every nonimmigrant visa applicant intends to remain in the United States permanently unless the applicant overcomes that presumption. An extended, recent stay in the United States as a parolee is precisely the kind of fact pattern that invites heightened scrutiny of an applicant's ties to their home country and true intent to depart upon completion of the treaty investment activity. Rather than treating the parole period as a liability to be minimized, we built the case to address it directly. We prepared a detailed narrative explaining the circumstances and lawful basis of the parole and its temporary nature, and we paired that explanation with comprehensive evidence of the applicant's continuing ties abroad, including family, property, and business connections in the home country. We also prepared the applicant for the consular interview, anticipating the specific 214(b) concerns the officer was likely to raise, As a result, the applicant could confidently discuss both the qualifying investment and their intent to return consistently with the documents on record. This result illustrates an approach we take in every case: when a fact in a client's history looks like a weakness, the best strategy is often to address it head-on with credible evidence, rather than hope it goes unnoticed. Every case depends on its own facts, and this result does not guarantee a similar outcome in another matter, but it reflects the kind of careful case-building we bring to complex E-2 and other immigration matters for our clients.