Read the general investor planning overview
A deposit paid to a supplier comes back before the file is submitted. That changes the amount actually committed to the enterprise and may change the operating plan the file describes. Rebuild both before filing, and record where the returned money now sits and what it is doing, instead of leaving an earlier figure standing in a summary that no longer matches the accounts.
Restate the committed figure with dates
Rebuild a dated ledger: what was paid, to whom, on what date, what was returned, and which account received it. The investment considered is capital that is at risk and irrevocably committed to the enterprise, so money resting in a personal account after a refund is not doing that work, whatever the original invoice said. At the same time, not every arrangement that can return money is excluded: a qualifying escrow contingent on visa issuance is possible, and the terms decide it. Supply the actual agreements, transfer records and bank statements for review rather than a conclusion about them, and mark clearly which payments are proposed, which are committed and which are complete.
Explain what has replaced the cancelled purchase
If the goods or services are no longer being bought, the plan has to say what the enterprise will do instead and with what. Substantiality is assessed in relation to the enterprise itself, and the enterprise must be real, operating and more than marginal, so a gap left by a cancelled supplier is a question about operations and not only about a number. Revise the operating account: the alternative supplier or method, the timing, the effect on capacity, delivery obligations and any planned staffing. Date the revised pages and keep the earlier version, so a reviewer sees a plan that was maintained as facts changed rather than one rewritten after the fact.
Ask what still depends on a decision
Hypothetical example: an applicant living in the Mirabel area preparing a file for a business in the United States receives a refund when a supplier cancels an order, and intends to redirect the money to a different vendor next month. Until that is contracted, it is an intention, and it should be described as one. Ask what remains conditional, whether a replacement agreement carries its own conditions, and whether bringing in another person to fund the gap would change the ownership and nationality analysis, which is fact-specific and turns on control as well as shareholding. There is no universal minimum figure that settles substantiality. Coordinate immigration and transaction advice before recommitting the returned funds.
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.