Not as a parent or sibling. E-2 dependent status reaches an eligible spouse and unmarried children under 21, not parents or siblings, and funding does not create eligibility. A qualifying E-2 spouse is generally employment-authorized incident to valid status; dependent children are not. Each family member follows their own process and eligibility.
Keep the funder's role financial, not operational
In a hypothetical Lorraine family, an uncle lends the deposit and offers to manage the store during the first winter. That is work in the United States, and it needs its own authorization; lending money or holding shares does not permit it. If the spouse intends to work, confirm the proof relied upon — an E-2S annotation or the admission record — rather than assuming any lawful presence suffices.
The spouse's ability to work is a genuine advantage of the E-2 route for a family that needs a second income, and it does not depend on a separate application being granted first. Build a dated review file around each person's passport, relationship evidence, status plans, school plans, and separate employment facts. A spouse's contribution may affect ownership, treaty nationality, source of funds, or control, but the transfer itself authorizes no U.S. employment.