IN THIS GUIDE · Intellectual property contributions and valuation
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Identify the rights being contributed
Describe the specific patent, copyright, licensed right or other intangible asset and who owns it. Distinguish ownership from permission to use another party’s property. Founders, employers and contractors may have different rights under their agreements. Resolve the actual chain of title before asserting that the investor can contribute the asset to the enterprise.
Use a defensible valuation basis
State Department guidance allows intangible property to be considered to the extent its value can reasonably be determined. Explain the records and method supporting the claimed amount. A startup’s proposed fundraising valuation or the hours a founder worked does not automatically establish the value of a qualifying asset invested in the business.
Document commitment and use
Show how the rights move into, or are committed to, the enterprise and how they support its commercial activities. Relevant agreements should explain scope, duration and restrictions. Merely possessing a patent does not establish an operating business. Connect the asset with products, licensing activity or services the enterprise can actually deliver.
Keep the remaining capital visible
An intangible asset does not eliminate cash needs for operations, delivery and launch. Explain the other resources required and the evidence of qualifying investment. Assess substantiality, risk and non-marginality across the enterprise as a whole rather than allowing an unsupported intangible valuation to dominate the investment schedule.
Who owns, who transfers, who values
Separate the four jobs before drafting anything. Ownership is a legal question answered by the agreements that governed the creation of the work, not by who had the idea. Transfer is an act performed by the owner, evidenced by an assignment or licence with a scope and a date. Valuation is an assessment, and its persuasiveness depends on who performed it and on what basis. Hypothetical example: an orthotics manufacturing founder designs a fitting method while employed elsewhere, assigns it to the new enterprise, and prices it personally in the business plan; two of those roles are filled by the same person and the third was never free of the first. Identify at the outset which jobs the investor cannot credibly perform alone.
Who directs the enterprise
Direction is a role distinct from ownership and cannot be delegated away without consequence: the treaty investor must develop and direct the enterprise, which is a question about decision-making authority rather than about job titles or daily presence. Where an outside manager runs operations, the record should show what the investor decides, controls or can override. Nationality attaches to people, so identify who holds the treaty nationality and, in a multi-owner enterprise, whether owners holding at least 50 percent do. A licensor retaining approval rights over pricing, territory or product may also be exercising control, and that belongs in the analysis rather than in a footnote. E-2 is a nonimmigrant status and does not by itself lead to permanent residence, whoever holds it.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.