Examine the present commitment rather than counting the original payment twice. Funds returned and freely available to the investor are not committed merely because they once reached a vendor. A replacement binding obligation, the actual payment position and any withdrawal conditions must be assessed together; control over an account alone does not settle every investment question.
Test irrevocability against the current agreement
Read the clause that governs cancellation, escrow release and refund, and note who may trigger it and on what notice. If two documents conflict — an old purchase order and a revised supply agreement — counsel resolves the conflict; there is no universal rule that only signed or only unsigned versions matter. Record the answer in the file so a reviewer does not have to reconstruct it from the bank record alone.
Ask for records establishing the recipient’s role and the supplier’s recognition that payment satisfied the buyer’s obligation. E-2 requires a real operating commercial enterprise with substantial capital at risk and more than marginal capacity. Independently establish treaty nationality, qualifying enterprise nationality, and the investor’s ability to develop and direct through 50 percent ownership or operational control.
What a consular officer will examine is whether the numbers are real: whether the income depends on the seller's personal reputation, whether the guide payroll is on the books, and whether the buyer's plan for the off-season is credible.