IN THIS GUIDE · Rebuilding an application budget after a supplier changes terms
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Recalculate the total cost of establishing the enterprise
Substantiality is measured against the total cost of establishing this particular enterprise, not against a fixed threshold. When a supplier raises the opening order and shortens payment terms, that total moves, and so does the proportion the investor has committed. Rebuild the figure from current quotations, the revised order, fit-out, licences and early operating costs. Present the new plan openly rather than leaving an old number in the business plan.
Make the money trail match the new terms
Purchase orders, invoices, payments and bank records should tell one consistent story. If a deposit was paid under the old terms and a second payment under the new ones, keep both, with dates. Show lawful source and the path of funds from origin to the enterprise's account. An account balance is not investment; funds must be irrevocably committed and exposed to commercial risk.
Stress-test currency and working capital
Inventory bought in U.S. dollars from Canadian savings exposes the plan to exchange movement and to timing. Model a range rather than one rate, and show what happens if launch slips a quarter. Keep enough working capital that the larger inventory order does not leave payroll and rent unfunded. Non-marginality looks at capacity beyond a minimal living for the family, or significant economic contribution — a thin buffer weakens both stories.
Document readiness without starting work too early
Pre-launch cases can succeed on credible commitments: signed lease, executed supply agreement, equipment ordered, licences applied for, and a hiring plan showing how the investor will develop and direct the enterprise. First sales are not a universal requirement. Being ready is not permission, though — the investor should not perform work in the United States before holding the appropriate authorization. Record what is done, what is scheduled, and what waits on a decision.
Weigh the investor route against a treaty trader case
Rising order volumes sometimes point toward a different treaty category altogether, and that deserves a deliberate look rather than an assumption. The investor route rests on capital irrevocably committed and at risk in a real, operating, non-marginal enterprise the investor will develop and direct. The trader route rests on something else: substantial trade in goods or services, already under way, carried on principally between the United States and the treaty country. A business built around importing and distributing components could present under either heading, depending on where its substance actually lies. Raise the comparison with counsel before the budget is rebuilt, because a file assembled around investment proportions answers questions a trade case never asks, and the volume records a trade case needs come from shipping and customs paperwork rather than from bank statements.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.