Read the general investor planning overview
Orders prove that a market exists. They do not prove that capital was spent, committed or placed at risk, and the E-2 tests ask about the money rather than the pipeline. Sort the file into what a buyer has actually paid, what has merely been promised, and what the enterprise has already irreversibly laid out. Revenue you expect is an argument about whether the business is marginal; it is never the investment itself.
Identify the actual commitments
Hypothetical example: a Lincoln fruit-processing venture opens a U.S. co-packing operation holding twelve letters of intent, three supply contracts carrying refundable deposits, and one prepaid order already shipped. Those are four different evidentiary weights. A letter of intent binds nobody. A refundable deposit sits on the balance sheet as a liability the buyer can call back, so it is neither the investor’s capital nor money at risk. A shipped and paid order is realized revenue, useful for showing that the business operates and can grow. Set each record beside its own contract terms — delivery obligations, cancellation windows, refund triggers — and label forecasts as forecasts. Presenting projected sales as funds available to the enterprise is the mistake most often found in a file that had a genuine business behind it.
State what the capital test actually asks
The investor must be a treaty-country national, and the enterprise must generally be at least fifty per cent owned by nationals of that same treaty country; Canada qualifies. The capital must be substantial in proportion to the cost of purchasing or establishing this particular business, lawfully sourced with the path traced from earnings, sale proceeds or a documented gift, irrevocably committed, and genuinely exposed to partial or total loss. No fixed dollar minimum appears anywhere in the E-2 rules, which is why a proportionality argument carries a file further than a headline number. Borrowing that is personally unsecured, or secured only against assets outside the enterprise, may count on its actual terms; debt secured by the enterprise’s own assets is excluded even where personal assets also stand behind it. Funds parked in an account, or held in escrow with no genuine visa-contingent release, remain uncommitted however large the balance.
Assess the complete operating capacity
The enterprise must be real and operating rather than marginal — it needs present or near-term capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or to make a significant economic contribution, with future capacity ordinarily expected to be realized within about five years of normal operation. Build that showing from documented costs, staffing and premises, then use the order book to support it rather than to replace it. Control is a separate question: the investor develops and directs the business through at least fifty per cent ownership or another qualifying form of operational control, and a passive stake fails however large the cheque. A qualifying E-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status, which often matters more to a household’s budget than the visa itself. A Canadian citizen applies for the E-2 visa at a consular post rather than at a port of entry, must intend to depart when E status ends, and should not read E-2 as a direct path to permanent residence. A delivery deadline in a supply contract creates commercial pressure and no immigration entitlement.
What else is on your mind?
Is there one minimum investment that guarantees E-2 eligibility?Is holding money or owning an asset enough for E-2?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.