IN THIS GUIDE · Identify what a customer-contract acquisition actually transfers
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Read the rights behind the acquisition schedule
Identify the assets and contracts included, any consent or transfer conditions and what has actually taken effect. A customer list is not necessarily an enforceable contract or confirmed future revenue. Describe unresolved conditions accurately without making a universal claim that every conditional transaction qualifies or fails.
Establish treaty nationality and development and direction
The applicant needs the relevant treaty nationality, and the enterprise generally requires at least 50% ownership by nationals of that treaty country. Development and direction may be shown through at least 50% ownership or operational control through a managerial position or another corporate device. Buying contracts does not by itself establish the ownership and authority relied upon.
Connect the investment with a real operating plan
Lawful capital must be substantial and committed at risk in a real, nonmarginal enterprise. There is no universal minimum investment. Nonmarginality concerns more than minimal living for the investor and family or the applicable significant economic contribution standard. Funds secured by enterprise assets do not qualify as investor capital on that basis. Intent to depart when E status ends remains required, and commercial closing is not work permission.
Separate money committed from future payment promises
Pre-launch cases can succeed on credible commitments: signed lease, executed supply agreement, equipment ordered, licences applied for, and a hiring plan showing how the investor will develop and direct the enterprise. Shareholder agreements can leave a majority owner unable to appoint a manager, approve a budget or hire; the E-2 investor must develop and direct the enterprise, so those clauses matter as much as the price. Money the applicant can still take back at will is not committed, but 9 FAM 402.9-6(B) accepts a purchase conditioned on issuance of the E-2 visa as a solid, irrevocable commitment where the assets are held in escrow for release once that condition is met. Properly structured visa-contingent escrow may qualify, while a freely reversible expression of interest does not establish the same commitment. The test asks whether the enterprise has present or near-future capacity to generate income significantly beyond meeting the investor's own living needs, typically evidenced through job creation for U.S. workers or a credible expansion trajectory, not through the owner's personal draw alone. A useful review identifies the amount already irrevocably committed, the amount still exposed to loss, and the date on which each owner payment would leave the enterprise. Amount is judged proportionally: substantial in relation to the total cost of purchasing an established enterprise or establishing a new one, which is why a modest sum can be substantial for a service business and inadequate for a production facility. Use credible forecasts, staffing plans, contracts, pricing assumptions, and a timeline for revenue growth; then test whether the numbers can sustain more than household expenses.
Test the fifty percent treaty ownership line
A shareholder who holds U.S. lawful permanent residence is generally not counted as a treaty national for these purposes, so a family member who obtained a green card years ago can affect whether the fifty percent threshold is met. Where the buyers intend to borrow, distinguish borrowing they are personally liable for from a loan secured by the assets of the business being bought, because the latter is treated differently.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.