Business, Investor, and Franchise Visas for Garden Grove Entrepreneurs
Business immigration in Garden Grove usually starts with a storefront: a pho restaurant on Brookhurst Street, a Korean bakery on Garden Grove Boulevard, a franchise near the Harbor Boulevard hotels, or a family import company. Owners and investors want to know which visa, if any, lets them run that business lawfully.
The answer depends heavily on citizenship. Some options, like the E-2 treaty investor visa, are only open to nationals of countries with a qualifying treaty, and Vietnam is not one of them. Others, like the L-1 and EB-5, have no nationality limits but higher thresholds.
This page outlines the main paths as of October 2026, with attention to the Vietnamese, Korean, and Mexican business communities in Garden Grove. Every case is different, and approval is never guaranteed.
The E-2 Treaty Investor Visa and Who Can Use It
The E-2 visa lets a national of a treaty country direct and develop a U.S. business in which they have invested, or are actively investing, a substantial amount of capital. There is no fixed minimum, but the investment must be at risk, proportional to the business, and more than marginal.
South Korea and Mexico are both on the State Department's E-2 treaty country list, which makes E-2 a realistic option for many Koreatown and Latino entrepreneurs. Employees with the same treaty nationality who are executives, managers, or essential workers may also qualify.
Vietnam is not an E-2 treaty country. A Vietnamese citizen cannot obtain an E-2 on a Vietnamese passport, regardless of how much they invest. Some investors hold a second citizenship from a treaty country, but citizenship obtained through investment programs can trigger a domicile requirement under recent law.
L-1 Intracompany Transfers for Businesses With a Foreign Parent
The L-1 visa allows a company with a qualifying office abroad to transfer an executive, manager, or specialized-knowledge employee to a related U.S. office. It has no treaty requirement, so it is available to Vietnamese companies expanding into Orange County.
The employee must generally have worked for the foreign company for at least one continuous year within the last three. A new U.S. office can qualify, but the initial approval is typically limited to one year and the company must show it can support an executive or managerial role by then.
- L-1A: executives and managers, with a maximum stay of seven years
- L-1B: specialized-knowledge employees, with a maximum stay of five years
- L-1A managers and executives may later qualify for an EB-1C green card