Read the general investor planning overview
An E-2 proposal often lists money for inventory, rent and early operations alongside the purchase price. Explain which amounts are committed to the enterprise and which remain an uncommitted reserve. A large bank balance does not answer the same question as funds genuinely invested or actively being invested. Hypothetical example: a treaty-national investor plans a geological core-sample imaging studio and keeps half of the budget in a personal reserve after signing a lease. The investor must decide which further commitments are necessary for the enterprise to operate and which money remains merely available. E-2 funds must be committed irrevocably, exposed to risk, and substantial for this enterprise; the operation cannot be marginal.
Map spending to the operating plan
Identify each proposed payment, its recipient and its purpose. Keep executed commitments distinct from estimates. Explain how the business will begin serving customers and fund its early operations, without presenting money merely held for possible future use as automatically qualifying investment. Make a payment schedule showing due date, cancellation terms and the business purpose of every amount. The reader can then decide whether a deposit truly places funds beyond the investor’s unrestricted control.
Test the investment conditions
The applicant needs qualifying treaty nationality and must develop and direct a real operating enterprise. Ordinarily nationals of the relevant treaty country own at least half of the business. Capital must have a lawful source, be substantial relative to the enterprise and be at risk. There is no universal fixed dollar minimum that substitutes for this assessment. Confirm nationality, ownership and control before concentrating on the budget. A well-funded proposal still fails if the enterprise or applicant does not meet the treaty-nationality and direction requirements.
Explain viability without inventing an income promise
Nonmarginality examines capacity to provide more than a minimal living for the investor and family or a significant economic contribution. Connect projections to documented assumptions, anticipated expenses and the actual business. Distinguish forecast revenue from signed business and avoid presenting a hoped-for profit as a guaranteed outcome. Stress-test the projections by identifying the source for each sales assumption and each early expense. The decision is whether the plan has a credible path beyond household support, not whether its spreadsheet displays a surplus.
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.