Read the general investor planning overview
Converting savings into U.S. dollars may help a Calixa-Lavallée investor plan a purchase. It does not itself show that funds are committed to a qualifying enterprise. Track the commercial use of the capital after conversion instead of treating a foreign-currency account as the operating investment. The useful first product is a funds ledger: source, currency conversion, account movement, binding commitment, recipient and loss exposure. E-2 capital must be lawfully obtained, committed and at risk; the investor must direct and develop the enterprise, and it must not be marginal. Hypothetical example: a harbour-buoy refurbishment business pays a supplier deposit that becomes nonrefundable only after an inspection deadline. The decision is whether the contract actually exposes the buyer to loss now or leaves the payment revocable; the signed terms and payment trail answer that question, not the balance shown after currency conversion.
Follow the funds to the enterprise
Identify payments for the real business and the legal obligations attached to them. Funds must be lawfully obtained, at risk and sufficiently committed. Money merely held in an account is not automatically a qualifying investment; appropriately structured visa-contingent purchase escrow requires its own analysis. Reconcile every transfer from its lawful source through the account that made the business payment. Keep purchase contracts, invoices, escrow terms and wire confirmations together, and identify what happens if the transaction fails. A sum can be large enough for the enterprise yet still be insufficiently committed if the investor can recover it freely.
Assess substantiality using the actual business
There is no universal E-2 minimum amount. Evaluate the invested proportion against the cost and nature of the enterprise, alongside its real operating activity and nonmarginality. Currency movements can change the cost to you without changing the legal test into a fixed Canadian-dollar target. Build the denominator from the real cost of buying or launching this enterprise, including essential equipment, inventory, premises and required operating setup. Then distinguish paid items from future intentions. The decision is whether the proportion invested is substantial for this specific business, not whether it resembles a number used in another investor’s story.
Preserve the ownership and direction evidence
The investor needs qualifying treaty nationality and the enterprise needs qualifying treaty-national ownership, generally at least 50 percent. A principal must develop and direct the business through ownership or other qualifying control. Banking records support the money trail; they do not establish these separate conditions. Place the passport evidence, ownership ledger, governing documents and job description in one review set. These records answer who owns and controls the enterprise, while the financial records answer how capital reached it. If a co-owner’s nationality or control rights change at closing, reassess the treaty analysis before relying on an earlier draft structure.
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.