Read the general investor planning overview
A Terrebonne investor considering a business with uneven monthly sales should explain how the enterprise will operate through its actual cycle. A single average can hide staffing, cash and activity assumptions that matter to understanding the business. A first review should produce a monthly operating calendar tied to signed commitments, inventory needs, staffing, and cash that is already exposed to the business. The reader must decide what evidence shows a functioning enterprise rather than relying on an annual average that masks the critical months.
Explain the real operating calendar
Describe busy and quieter periods, planned services, staffing and committed resources using credible records. Do not label a business marginal or nonmarginal solely because sales fluctuate. Assess its capacity under the applicable E-2 standard rather than inventing a monthly revenue threshold. Identify the record that supports each assumption: bookings, supplier quotations, payroll plans, or historical sales. This lets the reviewer test whether a quiet month is an ordinary cycle or a gap that undermines the proposed operation.
Retain the investment conditions
The principal needs the relevant treaty nationality and qualifying enterprise ownership, substantial lawful funds placed at risk, a real operating nonmarginal enterprise and authority to develop and direct it. There is no universal fixed capital minimum, and a seasonal forecast does not replace these requirements. The E-2 contribution must be irrevocably committed and exposed to a real risk of loss, while the enterprise cannot be marginal. The decision is whether the actual commitments and operating plan establish those points; a forecast alone does not.
Distinguish a forecast from money already available
Identify what is committed and what depends on future receipts. Explain reserves and operating needs without presenting every projected sale as current funding. Review the actual evidence and transaction before making an immigration commitment. Hypothetical example: an umbrella-repair business pays a nonrefundable deposit for parts before its rainy season, but keeps payroll money in a personal account. The decision is whether the documented commitment and remaining operating plan support the case; invoices and cancellation terms distinguish the two sums. Trace the money from its lawful source through the transfer and into the enterprise, then keep the business records separate from personal reserves. That sequence lets the reader decide what was committed before making an immigration filing.
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.