June 11, 2012
Obama signs bill extending investor visa to Israelis
Follow JewishJournal.com on 
President Barack Obama in the White House Press Briefing Room on June 8. Photo by REUTERS/Larry Downing
President Obama signed legislation that would that would add Israel to the list of countries eligible for non-immigrant investor visas in the United States.
The legislation, which was spearheaded by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), would grant Israelis E-2 investor visas, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. in order to be closer to their investments.
The legislation, signed Monday, passed the House and the Senate in recent months by wide bipartisan margins.
Seventy-nine countries are party to longstanding treaties with the United States that allow their citizens to apply for E-2 status.
