Funds genuinely committed to acquiring and operating the business — purchase price, inventory, equipment, deposits under binding terms — are usually the core. Immigration preparation costs are a separate category from business costs, and the treatment of particular items, including business-side professional fees, depends on the facts and should be reviewed.
Separate deal costs, operating costs and legal fees
Build a schedule with three columns: amounts paid to the seller, money spent to start operating your portion, and fees paid for the immigration process itself. Attach an invoice or wire confirmation to each line. Escrow and refundable deposits need fact-specific review, since revocation or condition clauses can affect whether money is truly at risk. Government fees change, so confirm current amounts at the step where they apply.
With compliance costs added, the total cost of establishing the enterprise rises and the committed amount may now look proportionally smaller. Request an itemized view: which charges would be presented as investment, which are ordinary operating costs, and which support the enterprise's projections instead. Beyond the amount, E-2 requires qualifying treaty nationality and enterprise ownership, a substantial investment, and a real operating business that is not marginal.
Many gaps have ordinary explanations: accrual versus cash treatment, year-end cut-off, capitalized equipment recorded as expense, owner contributions posted to the wrong account, or an adjusting entry made after the management report was printed.