Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: a shoreline and marine construction contractor plans to establish an operation across the border and wants to know whether the intended capital is enough. There is no threshold figure to compare against. Substantiality is proportional to what this particular enterprise costs to establish or acquire, and it sits beside a separate question about whether the business can be more than marginal. Both need answering before commitment. Hypothetical example: an industrial rope-access training business is for sale with equipment, contracts, and seasonal instructors. The buyer must decide whether the enterprise can operate beyond the household’s needs and whether funds can be committed with a documented commercial-risk structure before signing away diligence protections.
Ask what this business genuinely costs to start
Build the cost base honestly before asking whether the investment is substantial, because the comparison is against that number rather than against any published threshold. For a marine and shoreline contractor that means barges or work platforms, specialised equipment, insurance and bonding, licensing where the work is regulated, yard or dock access, and the working capital a seasonal trade requires between contracts. An investment that looks generous against a general figure can look thin against a realistic equipment list, and it is better to discover that while the numbers are still on paper. Obtain a line-by-line opening budget and test each assumption against contracts, equipment condition, and payroll. A broker’s revenue summary does not answer what capital the operation needs after closing.
Ask when the money stops being recoverable
The condition is irrevocable commitment with funds genuinely at risk, so map each payment to the date it can no longer come back: a deposit released to a vendor, equipment ordered to specification, a dock or yard lease creating enforceable liability, insurance and bonding premiums paid. Money sitting in an account earmarked for the venture is not committed however firm the intention. A conditional escrow can work where the conditions are documented and it is clear what has already become unrecoverable, and that structure is a conversation to have with the transaction lawyer rather than an afterthought. Record the commercial condition attached to every deposit and transfer. A transaction lawyer can help structure real exposure while ensuring the documents identify exactly when risk begins.
Ask whether the enterprise can support the household
Marginality is a separate test from substantiality. The enterprise must be real and operating and must have the present or near-future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, usually through employment or demonstrable earning capacity. For a seasonal contracting business that means asking candidly about the shoulder months, the realistic first-year contract pipeline, and how many people will actually be employed and for how long. A plan that reaches those numbers only in a distant year deserves scrutiny before any capital is exposed rather than afterwards. Compare realistic staffing and cash-flow forecasts with household withdrawals. The decision is whether the company has capacity to develop, not whether the owner can temporarily fund a personal lifestyle.
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.