IN THIS GUIDE · Read the voting agreement when two investors contribute unequal amounts
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Separate economic ownership from decision rights
In a hypothetical partnership, one investor contributes more money but both must consent to major operating decisions. Read the complete governance arrangement. The applicant needs qualifying treaty nationality, and at least 50% of enterprise ownership must have the relevant treaty-country nationality. Explain development and direction through actual ownership or operational control; do not infer it solely from who funded the larger share.
Reconcile both contributions with the investment structure
Trace lawful source and path and identify the investing person or entity. Do not categorically exclude every co-investor contribution or automatically count promised funds as invested. Qualifying capital must be substantially committed at risk relative to the actual enterprise cost, without a universal minimum. Financing secured on enterprise assets is not qualifying investment; inspect any personal borrowing and escrow on its actual terms.
Use a forecast that reflects the agreed operation
A real business must be nonmarginal: it needs capacity beyond a minimal living for the investor and family or the applicable significant economic contribution. Future capacity generally should be realizable within five years of normal activity. E-2 has no EB-5 ten-job quota. Explain which partner will perform each function, and distinguish authentic projections from assumptions that ignore the voting and spending restrictions.
Check the transaction and temporary-entry sequence
The investor must intend to depart when E status ends. Canadian citizens generally require an E visa; Canadian residence alone is not treaty nationality. A qualifying visa-contingent escrow or investment-in-process arrangement may be available, but a signature does not itself authorize US work. Have changes in partner rights or financing reassessed before relying on a structure that no longer applies.
Read the purchase agreement for what is actually committed
Substantial capital is judged in proportion to the total cost of establishing this particular enterprise, not against a benchmark borrowed from another industry. An E-2 enterprise must be at least 50 percent owned by nationals of the treaty country, and where the owner is a company, the consular officer looks through it to the natural persons who own that company. Funds held in escrow can still be irrevocably committed when a purchase is conditioned on issuance of the E-2 visa, provided the agreement creates a solid commitment and the assets are released or transferred once that condition is met. An E-2 preparation file should describe the enterprise the buyer would actually own and operate after closing, not assume every revenue relationship transfers with the assets. Funds paid into escrow that releases on visa approval, equipment purchased, a lease signed and deposits paid, a franchise fee remitted: these are commitments at risk. The capital must be irrevocably committed and exposed to loss; a refundable reservation or a seller's unrestricted cancellation right may therefore need closer analysis. Trace nationality through to individuals, then total the percentages against the fifty percent requirement rather than eyeballing them.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.