Built an App, No Company Yet. How Can I Use It to Immigrate to the US or Another Tier 1 Country?

Posted by Hafeez Ullah

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I am an app developer from Pakistan and I have already built an app. Now I want to turn it into a proper business and hopefully use that business as a pathway to move to the US or another Tier 1 country. At the moment, I do not have any registered company in Pakistan, the US, or anywhere else. The app is developed, but I am confused about how I should structure everything from the beginning. One of my first goals is to publish the app under a proper company instead of my personal name. I also want to create an Apple Developer Organization account, so I understand that I will need a proper legal entity. Should I register a US LLC first, or would it be better to register an SMC or Pvt Ltd company in Pakistan and then open a US company? My first preference is the US. I am especially interested in the E-2 visa route if it can work for an app or software business. I want to structure everything properly from day one instead of registering random companies now and having to change everything later. The roadmap I currently have in mind is: Developed app, register company, open business bank account, create Apple and Google developer accounts, launch the app, start getting users and revenue, invest in marketing and business operations, grow the company, and then apply for a suitable business or entrepreneur visa. Is this the right order, or should I structure things differently if immigration is one of my long-term goals? My total budget is around $40,000 maximum. Ideally, I want this budget to cover the full journey from company formation and app deployment to marketing, business expenses, legal and visa costs, and eventually relocation. Because this is an app-based business, I will not need a restaurant, warehouse, large office, or expensive physical inventory. Most of the investment would probably go toward app development, servers, marketing, customer acquisition, software subscriptions, contractors or employees, and other business operating expenses. Can this type of software business realistically work for an E-2 visa? For example, if I have $40,000 in total, how much should I actually invest into the US business before applying for E-2, and how much should I keep aside for legal fees, visa costs, living expenses, and relocation? I also do not want to depend completely on the US. If the E-2 route does not work, I want to have a realistic Plan B and Plan C. My bigger goal is to use the app as a genuine international business and eventually immigrate to a developed country where I can continue operating and growing it. I am open to the UK, Canada, UAE, Australia, New Zealand, or European countries if they have realistic founder, entrepreneur, startup, self-employed, or business immigration routes. I am also open to registering the business in more than one country over time if there is a genuine reason for it. For example, I could have my development company in Pakistan and then establish another company in the US or another country for sales, payments, marketing, or expansion. But I do not want to waste money registering companies everywhere without a proper strategy. If the US E-2 route does not work, which countries would realistically be worth considering for an app developer with an already-built product and a maximum total budget of $40,000? I am mainly interested in countries where I could eventually get the right to live there and operate my business, rather than simply registering a remote company without any immigration benefit. Basically, I am looking for a complete roadmap from where I am today: App already developed, no company yet, company registration, app launch, revenue and users, business investment, growth, and eventually immigration. If you were in my position in Pakistan with an already-built app and a maximum budget of $40,000, which company would you register first and in which country? Would you target the US E-2 first, or would you choose another country? And what would your Plan B and Plan C be if the first immigration route did not work?

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Replies (3)

4
Mason Turner
Since you are Pakistani, the good news is that Pakistan is an E-2 treaty country, so you can apply for an E-2 directly as a Pakistani citizen. For an app/software business, I would approach the process roughly like this: 1. Form the US company Register an LLC or corporation in the US. There is no special company type required specifically for E-2. Make sure the ownership structure remains E-2 compliant. Generally, at least 50% of the US business must ultimately be owned by nationals of the qualifying treaty country. 2. Get the basic business infrastructure After formation: • Get the EIN • Open the US business bank account • Set up bookkeeping/accounting • Register the domain and business email • Move the app/business assets under the company where appropriate • Get Apple/Google organization developer accounts • Set up payment processing • Create contracts, terms, privacy policy and other business documents The goal is to show that this is becoming a real US operating business, not just a company registered on paper. 3. Transfer your investment into the business There is no official E-2 minimum such as $50,000 or $100,000. Instead, the investment must be substantial relative to the cost of establishing your particular business. For a software company, that could include legitimate expenses such as: • Development and contractors • Servers/cloud infrastructure • Software subscriptions • Marketing and advertising • Legal/accounting costs • Equipment • Business insurance • Office or coworking costs • Salaries • Other genuine operating expenses Keep extremely clear records showing where the money came from and where every major amount was spent. Simply transferring $40,000 into a US bank account and leaving it there normally would not be enough because E-2 capital generally needs to be committed and genuinely at risk. 4. Launch and operate the app Do not make the E-2 application look like: “I have an idea and $40k.” A much stronger position is: Company + working product + investment + customers/users + contracts/revenue + marketing + operating expenses + growth plan. You do not necessarily need a profitable company already, but you need to demonstrate a genuine commercial enterprise with a credible future. 5. Prepare a strong E-2 business plan The business plan is particularly important for a newer company. It should normally explain: • What the app does • Target US market • Competitors • Revenue model • Your investment • How funds are being used • Marketing strategy • 5-year financial projections • Hiring plan • Why the business can grow beyond simply providing you with a living The last point matters because the business cannot be merely a marginal enterprise. 6. Build the E-2 evidence package You would normally document things such as: Company formation → ownership → source of funds → transfer of funds → investment/spending → operating business → app/product → customers → revenue → business plan → your ability to develop and direct the company. For a founder, evidence that you actually created and understand the product can also make the business story much more convincing. 7. Apply for the E-2 visa As an applicant outside the US, you generally apply through a US consular post rather than first obtaining a USCIS petition. You complete the DS-160, pay the applicable visa application fee, follow the E-visa submission requirements of the embassy/consulate and attend the visa interview. A principal E-2 investor generally needs the DS-160; DS-156E requirements differ for employees/managers/essential employees. Always follow the specific instructions of the US post handling your application. 8. Attend the interview Be prepared to explain very simply: “What is the business?” “How much have you invested?” “Where did the money come from?” “What have you spent it on?” “How will the company make money?” “Why do you need to be in the US?” “How will the company grow and hire?” The documents and your answers should tell the same story. 9. If approved, enter the US and run the company For Pakistani nationals, the current reciprocity schedule lists E-2 visas as multiple-entry with validity of up to 60 months. Visa validity and permitted stay are different things. E-2 admission is normally granted for up to two years at a time. One final point: E-2 is not a green card. It is a renewable nonimmigrant investor status. If permanent US residence is your long-term objective, you should separately build toward a possible future immigrant category rather than assuming E-2 automatically converts to a green card. So in your situation, I would think of the roadmap as: US company → EIN/bank → invest → launch app → generate traction → document everything → business plan → E-2 package → DS-160 → interview → move and operate the business. With a $40,000 total budget, I would speak with an experienced E-2 immigration attorney before making major irreversible expenditures, so the company ownership, source-of-funds trail and investment structure are built correctly from day one.
2
Dylan Reed
If the US is your first choice, I would structure the business around the E-2 from the beginning. Pakistan is an E-2 treaty country, so as a Pakistani citizen you can qualify directly. You do not need to obtain another nationality first. I would probably register the US company first, rather than creating a Pakistan company only for immigration purposes. Keep clear ownership, obtain the EIN/business bank account, move the app and developer accounts under the company, launch it, and start building real users, revenue and operating history. There is no fixed minimum E-2 investment. The investment must be substantial relative to the actual cost of starting your type of business, genuinely committed and at risk. Simply keeping $40,000 in a US business account is not enough. The business also needs to be real and capable of becoming more than a business that only supports you personally. For a lean software/app company, a $40,000 total budget can potentially work, but I would not spend the entire amount just to make the visa look stronger. Something like $25k–$30k genuinely deployed into the business, with the remainder reserved for legal/visa costs and relocation, could be a reasonable starting structure if your actual business plan supports those expenses. Your roadmap should therefore be: US company → bank/EIN → Apple & Google organization accounts → launch → users/revenue → real business spending → strong business plan → E-2 application. I would make UK Innovator Founder Plan B if the app is genuinely innovative and scalable. It requires endorsement and focuses heavily on innovation, viability and scalability, but it is also a route that can eventually lead to settlement. For Plan C, I would look at Portugal’s entrepreneur/self-employed residence route, especially if the priority becomes obtaining residence while continuing to run the business rather than specifically entering the US market. One important point: E-2 itself is not a direct US green-card route. So if permanent US immigration is the ultimate goal, I would build the company and your personal founder profile in a way that could later support a separate immigrant pathway. Most importantly, do not register companies in 3–4 countries now. Pick the immigration strategy first, then build the corporate structure around it.
0
Harry Collins
I would not rush into the E-2 route in your situation. E-2 is possible for Pakistani citizens, but for a bootstrapped app business with around $40,000 total capital, I think it has an important downside: you need to put a substantial amount of money genuinely at risk in a real operating US business. Money simply sitting in the company bank account generally does not count. The business also has to be more than marginal and show the ability to generate meaningful economic activity. That could force you to spend a large percentage of your startup capital earlier than you otherwise would. For a software business, preserving runway for product development, marketing and unexpected costs can be more valuable than spending money mainly to strengthen an immigration application. The bigger issue for me is the long-term goal. E-2 is a temporary nonimmigrant visa and does not itself provide a direct route to a US green card. You may successfully build the company in America but still need to qualify for a completely separate immigrant category later. I would seriously investigate the UK Innovator Founder visa first if your app has something genuinely innovative about it. Unlike E-2, there is no fixed minimum investment amount specified for a new Innovator Founder business. Instead, you need an approved endorsing body to accept that the business is innovative, viable and scalable and that you have sufficient funding for the plan. Most importantly, Innovator Founder is specifically designed as a route to settlement. The initial visa can be granted for 3 years, and qualifying founders can potentially apply for indefinite leave to remain after 3 years if they meet the business-growth and endorsement requirements. So with your circumstances, my order would be: Plan A: UK Innovator Founder if the app can pass the innovation/scalability test. Plan B: E-2 USA once the app has traction and you have more capital to comfortably invest. Plan C: Portugal entrepreneur route if your main priority becomes European residence rather than the US startup ecosystem. Portugal has a residence-visa route specifically for non-EU entrepreneurs and independent professionals. I would rather spend the next 6–12 months building users, revenue and evidence that the app is scalable than immediately spend most of the $40k trying to manufacture a stronger E-2 case. A successful startup will give you more immigration options. An immigration strategy should not drain the startup before it has a chance to grow.