Read the general investor planning overview
A Contrecœur buyer may receive a franchise package with model staffing assumptions. Explain the proposed enterprise’s actual resources and the investor’s direction instead of treating the brand’s sample plan as proof of your own case. Begin with a source-and-path ledger: identify where each dollar came from, when it moved, and whether it can be withdrawn. The documents that settle this are bank records, transfer confirmations, purchase contracts and the enterprise’s governing papers. Decide whether the money has been committed to the actual business before relying on a forecast.
Separate the model from the proposed operation
Identify which staffing, sales and expense figures concern the actual location and which are examples. Support projections with the real proposed operation. Do not present staff from another franchise as employees of the enterprise being purchased. Test the forecast against a start-up budget, lease, equipment quotations and realistic sales assumptions. A first review identifies which line items are funded and which depend on later revenue. Decide whether the enterprise can open on the stated plan or whether a smaller, supported plan is more accurate.
Establish the investor conditions
E-2 requires treaty nationality, qualifying ownership, substantial lawful capital at risk and a real nonmarginal enterprise that the principal will develop and direct. There is no universal fixed investment minimum. A franchise licence does not substitute for those conditions. Hypothetical example: an investor proposes a business repairing commercial beekeeping equipment and pays a supplier deposit that is refundable if financing fails. The review asks whether the deposit is genuinely committed and what loss the investor would bear. The decision is whether to revise the transaction before presenting it as at risk. E-2 funds must be irrevocably committed and remain at risk.
Explain decision-making responsibility
Describe the investor’s actual authority and activities alongside the franchise restrictions. Brand standards and investor direction need factual explanation; neither an established brand nor an operating manual automatically establishes immigration eligibility. Use signed authority documents, bank mandates and operating agreements to show who will make material decisions. An advisor may assist without becoming the person who directs the business, but the record must reflect the real allocation. Decide what authority remains with the investor before filing.
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.