Read the general investor planning overview
A business that earns most of its revenue in a few months still has to be explained across twelve. Prepare the operating record, the cash position through the quiet period, and the basis for each projection. The review considers whether the enterprise is real, operating and non-marginal — not whether one season was strong.
Show the year, not the peak
Assemble monthly revenue, costs, payroll and cash balances for every period that already exists, and identify which months carry the business through the downtime. Explain what happens during the closed or reduced season: maintenance, pre-selling, an off-season line, or no activity at all. Where a number is a projection, label it as one and state the assumption behind it, so a reader can see which figures are history and which are expectation. Avoid presenting forecast income as an established result. If the quiet months are covered by a reserve or a facility, say what that is and where it sits today.
Explain the funds and what is at risk
Hypothetical example: a purchaser signs for a seasonal operation in early spring, pays a deposit into escrow, and expects the first full season to begin within weeks. Trace the lawful source of the capital and its dated path to the recipient, and keep proposed, committed and completed payments distinct. Substantial, at-risk, irrevocably committed investment is what is assessed; not every refundable deposit qualifies, and escrow terms contingent on visa issuance need reading before anything is signed or paid. Coordinate the transaction advice with the immigration review rather than sequencing it afterward, when the terms can no longer be changed.
Address non-marginality without promising results
Non-marginality considers present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or to make a significant economic contribution. Explain how the seasonal enterprise meets the applicable test with support for its forecasts. Present customers, contracts, suppliers and staffing as they actually stand, identifying seasonal hiring and uncertain assumptions. Neither guaranteed profits nor an invented headcount substitutes for evidence. Substantiality is assessed relative to this business, without a universal dollar minimum. Explain separately how the applicant would develop and direct it.
The quiet months are where the directing role is tested
A seasonal operation invites a description that quietly undermines the application: the investor present for the busy months and absent for the rest, with a manager running everything in between. Develop and direct is a continuous requirement rather than a summer one, so an account built around peak-season attendance leaves the remaining months unexplained. Set out what the investor decides during the quiet period, such as purchasing, hiring for the next season, pricing and contract renewals, and identify the records showing those decisions being made: board resolutions, signed supplier agreements, correspondence approving budgets. Where a manager holds real authority, describe its limits rather than leaving the division unstated.
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.