IN THIS GUIDE · Trace acquisition funds when an old account record is unavailable
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Describe the evidence gap precisely
Record the account holder, relevant dates and transfer being examined. Ask the institution about available archives or confirmations and preserve its actual response. Assess other genuine records for what they establish without assuming an explanation automatically replaces institutional evidence. Do not reconstruct a statement that purports to come from a bank.
Keep investment eligibility distinct from tracing
E-2 requires qualifying treaty nationality, generally at least 50% relevant treaty-country national ownership of the enterprise, and the investor’s ability to develop and direct it through ownership or effective control. Lawful capital must be substantial and committed at risk, with no universal minimum. Funds secured by enterprise assets do not qualify as investment on that basis. A documented transfer is only part of the eligibility analysis.
Show the enterprise and temporary undertaking
The business must be real and nonmarginal: more than minimal living for the investor and family, or the applicable significant economic contribution, with supported future capacity where relevant. Identify operating resources as well as the purchase terms. The investor must intend to depart when E status ends. Canadian citizens generally need an E visa; completing a transaction does not itself authorize U.S. work.
Seller financing secured on the business is not investment
Money counts toward the E-2 investment when it has been spent on the business or is irrevocably committed to it: purchased equipment, a signed commercial lease with rent paid, inventory, permits, professional fees and funds held in escrow that release on visa approval. Beyond the enterprise, the employee must hold the same treaty-country nationality as the qualifying owners, and must be coming either to fill an executive or supervisory position or to provide services requiring special qualifications essential to the enterprise's operations. Substantiality is proportional rather than absolute: the committed capital is weighed against the total cost of buying an established enterprise of this kind, so a low-cost business demands a high proportion and there is no threshold to point at. The standard structure for a purchase is a signed stock or asset purchase agreement, with the purchase price deposited in escrow to be released to the seller on visa approval and returned to the buyer only if the visa is refused. For a service franchise that means vehicles on the road, technicians hired or committed, licences obtained and customers being served. Personally secured or unsecured loans may require a different assessment, including lawful source and path; seller financing is not a label that resolves those questions. Funds must move beyond a revocable intention, be exposed to commercial risk, and support an enterprise that is not marginal. For borrowing, examine personal liability, collateral, and use of proceeds: debt secured by the enterprise's assets raises a different issue from financing based on the investor's personal assets.
Establish treaty nationality and development and direction
Development and direction is ordinarily shown by ownership of at least half the enterprise, or by operational control demonstrated through a managerial position or another corporate device. The enterprise takes its nationality from the citizenship of those who own it, and at least fifty percent must be held by nationals of the treaty country who are not lawful permanent residents of the United States. The company may rely on outside suppliers without becoming passive, but the investor must genuinely develop and direct the enterprise.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.