Read the general investor planning overview
A Terrasse-Vaudreuil investor may show a bank balance that also supports existing obligations. Explain which funds are actually proposed for the U.S. enterprise instead of using the full balance as an unqualified investment total. A first review should create a funds ledger separating liquid balance, personal obligations, money bound elsewhere, and money proposed for the enterprise. Hypothetical example: a kelp-harvesting equipment supplier holds sale proceeds in one account but signed a separate financing guarantee. The decision is what portion can truly be committed without counting the same money twice.
Identify the actual commitments on the funds
Prepare a record of the account, lawful source, proposed transfer and other identified obligations. Hypothetical example: a balance includes money already committed to another purchase. Do not count the same funds as simultaneously available for both commitments; keep alternatives distinct from obligations already undertaken. Mark each balance as available, reserved, transferred, escrowed, or obligated, and support that label with the agreement or statement that settles it. This exposes a claimed investment that remains only an expected transfer.
Establish the qualifying investment rather than mere availability
E-2 requires substantial lawful capital committed at risk. A bank balance does not by itself establish investment in the enterprise. Enterprise-secured debt is not qualifying capital; other financing and properly structured visa-contingent escrow need assessment of their actual terms. Identify the actual source-to-investment path. Trace funds from lawful source to enterprise with dated statements, transfer records, and transaction agreements. The capital must face genuine commercial risk; a personal balance or enterprise-secured debt does not by itself show qualifying commitment.
Connect the remaining resources to the operating plan
The treaty investor must develop and direct through qualifying ownership and control, and the real enterprise must be nonmarginal. Explain the resources the proposed business would actually have rather than relying on an undifferentiated personal balance. This is an evidence reconciliation, not a recommendation about how much of the household’s money to commit. Decide which expenses belong to operations and which remain personal, filing, or household costs. The plan should show how the nonmarginal business will be developed and directed through qualifying ownership and control, not merely historic wealth.
What else is on your mind?
Is there one minimum investment that guarantees E-2 eligibility?Is holding money or owning an asset enough for E-2?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.