IN THIS GUIDE · An investor seeks to purchase only part of an existing enterprise
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Define the operation being carved out
A partial purchase can mean many things: a minority share of the whole company, a division, a customer book, or a location with its own staff and equipment. Write down which assets, contracts and employees transfer and which stay with the seller. E-2 assessment also considers ownership: the investor's treaty nationality and whether treaty-country owners hold at least fifty percent of the United States enterprise. Read the purchase and escrow terms before treating a bank balance as investment evidence. The agreement shows whether release depends on an event that the investor can still simply decline.
Trace the money into the acquired share
Identify the enterprise being assessed and review substantiality against its actual cost; a share purchase and a separate acquired division may require different factual analysis. Capital must be genuinely committed and at risk. Record the purchase agreement, any escrow or deposit terms, and the personal or business funds used. Show the lawful original source and the full path of the money; an account balance alone is not enough. Loans are not prohibited, but the collateral pledged affects how the funds are viewed. Build the financial sequence from source account to conversion, transfer, escrow and business use. Each statement should answer one link in the trail and identify the party controlling the funds at that stage.
Read the acquired operation's own numbers
Ask the seller for financial records tied to the part being bought rather than the consolidated company: customer lists, recurring contracts, payroll, rent, supplier terms and margins. Non-marginality can rest on present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor's family, or on significant economic contribution. Projections should trace back to the acquired operation's real revenue and cost history. A purchase price alone does not settle marginality. Forecasts, payroll assumptions, customer evidence and operating expenses must describe a real business plan rather than an assertion that revenue will appear later.
Plan the transition and your own role
Decide who runs the operation after closing, what the investor personally directs, and how much control the shareholding actually carries. Ownership alone does not authorize you to perform work in the United States; the appropriate work authorization is required; not every lawful status permits that activity. Confirm what the seller will continue to do during the transition, and keep documents showing intent to depart when status ends. Ask counsel to review conflicting or overlapping obligations in the agreements. The first review should produce two decisions: which payment can be documented as committed, and whether the operating plan supports more than personal support. Resolve those questions before filing or scheduling an interview.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.