Grenada is the only country in the Caribbean that has both citizenship by investment (Cbi) program and provides an unique opportunity for CBI citizens to apply for E-2 investor visa to United States.
Grenada signed E-2 treaty with United States on March 3, 1989. This treaty is currently 30 years old in 2019.
The E-2 investor visa is an non-immigrant visa to enter United States available to Grenadian citizens, when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. E-2 is an excellent alternative to EB-5, for those who do not want to live permanently in United States and only visit from time to time and do not want to become a tax resident in US.
E-2 visas for Grenadians are issued for multiple entries with validity of 60 months (5 years)
According to recent state department statistics, the E-2 visas issued for Grenada nationals picking up greatly in 2019. During the first two months of 2019, 15 E-2 visas issued for citizens of Grenada. The numbers have increased significantly since only 1 E-2 visa issued in 2017
- Jan 2018 – 0
- Feb 2018 – 2
- Mar 2018 – 0
- April 2018 – 0
- May 2018 – 0
- Jun 2018 – 1
- Jul 2018 – 0
- Aug 2018 – 0
- Sep 2018 – 7
- Oct 2018 – 0
- Nov 2018 – 3
- Dec 2019 – 0
- Jan 2019 – 10
- Feb 2019 – 5
Grenada launched its citizenship by investment program in Aug 2013. The E-2 statistics does not explicitly indicate how many CBI citizens have received E-2 visas, but extremely low number of E-2 visas, indicate this visa route not being used effectively until 2017.
E2 visa workload FY 2018
- Issued – 41,181
- Refused – 13,489
- Workload – 54,670
- Overcome: – 8,647
The overall Refusal rate for 2018 stands at 32.7%. In other words, one in three E2 visas are refused.
The US embassy in Barbados serves Grenada. According to the embassy, visa interview waiver has been given to Grenada citizens who renew visas and interview waived for children below 13 and grandparents above 80 years.
According to State department visa section for Grenada
Grenada operates a citizenship by investment program whereby foreigners may obtain Grenada citizenship and a full validity Grenada passport for an investment of $250,000. There is no residency requirement for foreigners who obtain citizenship through this program.
The Department has determined passports issued under the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Program are valid under INA 101(a)(30). Although a visa may be placed in such passports, applicants must still establish their identity to the satisfaction of a consular officer. Applicants may need to present other supporting documents (a passport issued by another foreign government, school ID, identity certificate) to establish both identity and nationality. During the course of the interview, officers should pay close attention to where the applicant was born and if the individual is potential dual national. Consular officers should contact the consular section in Embassy Bridgetown or the Visa Office with any questions regarding the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Program.
Please note currently Grenada reduced its requirement for citizenship to USD 150,000 (single) and several amendments introduced to CIP in 2019 including reducing real estate investment to USD 220,000
