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BROSSARD · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Can the customer’s desired start date dictate when the investor begins U.S. services?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. Customer expectations do not create work authorization or guarantee visa processing. Identify a lawful service-delivery plan if the investor’s immigration process is unfinished. Review the contract’s timing and modification options before promising personal U.S. work from a date that depends on an unissued authorization.

Align the contract with actual immigration milestones

Ask who can perform the initial work lawfully and whether deliverables can be rescheduled by agreement. Document legitimate changes and keep the application’s operating plan consistent. Canadian citizens generally need an E visa. A genuine pre-launch enterprise may be assessed through credible commitments, but commercial readiness and permission for the investor to work remain distinct.

Order the milestones: incorporation and share issuance, funding of the U.S. account, signing and closing of the asset purchase, delivery or transfer of the assets, and completion of the valuation file. Useful milestones: guarantee terms settled, funds traced and transferred, premises secured on terms you can live with, business plan complete, packet reviewed, appointment attended. Update the transfer agreement, source records, escrow instructions, purchase contract, working-capital schedule, and business plan before proceeding. An agreement that is binding but with completion conditioned on the immigration outcome, with the price in escrow, satisfies the commitment requirement while preserving a defined exit.