GRENADA'S INVESTMENT MIGRATION AGENCY TOUTS ITS ACCESS TO A U.S. E-2 INVESTOR VISA, BUT LEAVES OUT THE DETAILS REGARDING THE DIFFICULTY IN ACTUALLY OBTAINING ONE

If you read the marketing materials of the consultants who sell Grenada Citizenship by Investment (CBI) economic passports, you would think that obtaining an Investor E-2 Visa to enter the United States is a cakewalk for holders of Grenada passports, and the government agency involved in Grenada, the IMA, does nothing to dispel that impression. All the websites hawk the availability of the E-2, as an important advantage that Grenada has over the other four East Caribbean CBI and CIP states. You would think, looking at the offers available online, that the E-2 is the principal reason investors flock to Grenada, but do they actually end up with that prized access to the United States? The truth is, they generally do not, and that constitutes deception, as well as misrepresentation of a material fact.

In truth and in fact, qualifying for an E-2, through the US Embassy in Grenada, through one's Grenada citizenship, can be an arduous task, involving a substantial period of time, as the application must be properly supported with the required documents, there will be a mandatory interview on site, and follow-up procedures are to be expected. While it may be difficult to understand, such procedures generally take many months and can, based upon recent experience, involve a waiting period of up to two years, while the application wends its way through the American government system.

 You should also know that approval is not guaranteed; the failure to submit the extensive documentation requested, some minor scrape with the law in the past, even if properly discharged, and the staffing at the embassy during the period when the application is pending, could all end up with the application declined, with no further recourse.

Add to these issues the present political administration, which is (1) reducing, and even closing, embassies and consulates as a cost-cutting measure, (2) changing official attitudes towards awarding visas in general in the new Trump Administration, and (3) adopting an adversarial attitude towards long-time American allies, and you have an even more reduced chance of obtaining approval.

Therefore, the bold assertion that the E-2 Visa is available to all who purchase that Grenadian economic citizenship is misleading at best, and most likely deceptive. It may be time for Grenada to instruct its passport vendors, sub-agents and consultants to stop openly pushing the E-2 as a valuable asset. If it doesn't, there may be liability when investors are disappointed with what they have purchased.