IN THIS GUIDE · Testing an E-2 plan for a United States subscription business that collects a year of service upfront
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Treat a year of prepaid fees as an obligation
Money collected in advance buys twelve months of service the business has not yet delivered. Ask the accountant to determine the appropriate recognition of revenue and remaining obligations. A monthly cohort schedule can help explain service delivery and the portion not yet earned. A hypothetical Mirabel-based founder may see a healthy bank balance in month two that is almost entirely future work. Build the financial picture on that basis before describing profitability to anyone. Hypothetical example: a treaty-national investor prepays a U.S. commercial kitchen for an allergen-safe frozen-meal venture and sells annual meal plans before the first deliveries. The review separates customer obligations from the investor's own committed funds, and asks whether the kitchen contract can still be cancelled or has exposed the capital to loss.
Keep the investor's capital distinct from customer cash
Subscriber payments for future services are operating receipts carrying obligations; do not automatically count them as the investor’s contribution. E-2 looks at capital the investor has genuinely committed and placed at risk in a real operating commercial enterprise in the United States. Show the funds you put in, what they were spent or irrevocably committed on, and what remains recoverable. Customer money flowing through the account does not substitute for that commitment, and a balance alone proves little. Trace each investor payment from its lawful source through the account and into a binding business use. Bank statements, transfer confirmations, contracts, invoices, and cancellation terms answer different parts of that question. A payment that can be recovered without meaningful consequence may need careful analysis before it is described as capital at risk.
Argue non-marginality from renewals and capacity
Non-marginality can rest on present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or on significant economic contribution. With annual prepayments, churn at renewal is the pressure point. Present retention assumptions, servicing costs across the full subscription year, and the staffing or contracting the plan supports. There is no universal ten-job rule and no fixed revenue threshold to recite. Use a forecast that identifies when renewals, staffing, and delivery costs occur, rather than relying on the opening bank balance. The reader must decide whether the projected business can support more than the household's needs or contribute substantially to economic activity on the facts, and retain records that allow the assumptions to be checked.
Confirm nationality, ownership and your own role
Treaty eligibility follows citizenship, not where you live, so a Mirabel address is only your mailing address. Canadian citizenship qualifies as treaty nationality, and at least fifty percent of the enterprise must be owned by treaty nationals. You must genuinely develop and direct the business; holding shares is not itself the work. Canadian citizens generally need an E visa, and temporary intent to depart when status ends remains relevant. Confirm the ownership chain and nationality evidence before relying on an investor's operational title. A cap table, passport evidence, governing documents, and a description of actual decision-making help show both who owns the enterprise and who will guide it after entry.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.