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SAINT-PHILIPPE · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Is a bookkeeping cleanup worth paying for before filing?

Sources checked:

THE DIRECT ANSWER

If the records cannot explain the capital figure, a scoped accounting reconciliation may help establish it. Ask what the accountant will reconstruct, what supporting records you must provide and which uncertainties will remain. Classify the actual accounting and immigration-preparation services separately; neither the invoice title nor paying a professional establishes qualifying investment.

Budget the reconstruction, not just the filing

Scope the work first: how many months of statements, how many accounts, whether prior filings must be amended, and who writes the source-and-path narrative. Then decide what is proportionate to the size of the enterprise. No guaranteed total or outcome can be quoted, and current government charges should be verified at each step. The investment treatment of each fee depends on the actual service and applicable rules.

A lease commits the business to payments over months or years, so the budget should show how those instalments will be met while revenue builds. An equipment invoice does not establish that its entire face value qualifies as the investor’s contribution; examine the real terms and avoid counting the same value twice. Government fees for the visa application and any petition are on the State Department and USCIS fee schedules and are small beside the working capital question.