IN THIS GUIDE · Show the money left your control and entered the business
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Nationality attaches to the investor and the business
Canada is a treaty country for this category, and the requirement runs in two directions. The individual investor must hold the treaty nationality, and the enterprise must be owned at least fifty percent by nationals of that same treaty country. A purchase structured through a partner who does not share the nationality can defeat the requirement even where the applicant personally qualifies. Settle the ownership arrangement before the purchase agreement is signed, because unwinding a structure afterwards is expensive and the paperwork that documents the original intent is what a reviewer reads.
Committed and at risk means the funds are gone
The distinction that decides most files is between money that is available and money that is invested. Funds sitting in an account, a mortgage pre-approval, or a signed letter of intent are not a commitment. Purchase deposits released to the seller, an executed agreement that is binding without a further approval, equipment paid for, a lease signed with liability attached, and payments that cannot be recovered if the venture fails are what irrevocable commitment looks like. Conditional escrow arrangements can work, but the conditions and the point at which the money becomes unrecoverable have to be documented precisely.
Substantial and non-marginal are separate questions
The invested amount is judged in proportion to what this particular business costs to acquire or establish, not against a fixed threshold, so a modest sum can be substantial for a contracting business and inadequate for a capital-intensive one. Separately, the enterprise must be real and operating and must not be marginal, meaning it must have the present or near-future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, usually through employment or a demonstrable earning capacity. An established contractor with an existing crew and a customer base addresses this more readily than a start-up plan.
Develop and direct, and what the status does not give
The investor must develop and direct the enterprise, which is ordinarily shown by at least fifty percent ownership or by operational control through a management position or another mechanism recorded in the governing documents. A silent partner does not qualify. It is equally important to understand the boundaries: E-2 is a nonimmigrant category with no direct path to permanent residence, it depends on the continued existence of the qualifying investment, and it does not convert into anything else by the passage of time. The spouse of an E-2 principal is employment-authorized incident to status.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.