Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Explain the operating reserve
Identify the account, ownership, intended obligations and actual commitment to the enterprise. Assess substantial capital at risk with lawful source and path. A label such as “working capital” does not decide the legal treatment without the underlying facts. Follow each material amount from its lawful origin to its present use. Sale papers, tax records, loan terms, wire confirmations, purchase agreements, and escrow instructions do different jobs; do not rely on a final account balance alone. A loan or gift needs its own source trail and terms, particularly where collateral or repayment rights affect control of the funds. If a portion of the funds sits in escrow, explain the condition for release and the consequence if the application is refused. A properly documented conditional transaction can still show meaningful commitment, whereas a personal account with no obligation normally cannot. The agreement itself, not the label placed on the account, supplies the answer.
Connect capital to the complete business case
The investor must be a national of a treaty country; Canada qualifies, and at least 50% of the enterprise must have the relevant treaty-country ownership. The operating reserve must be irrevocably committed and at risk, substantial relative to the business, and used for a real, active, operating enterprise that is not marginal. The investor must develop and direct it, ordinarily through at least 50% ownership or operational control. E-2 provides no direct path to permanent residence. Test ownership and operating control before treating a company registration as decisive. The applicant must be able to develop and direct the enterprise, and its nationality must meet the treaty rule. A forecast should connect to actual demand, staffing, premises, and costs so the reader can assess nonmarginality without invented revenue figures. Decide whether the investor will actually direct the venture on the operating record. An operating agreement that assigns decisions to someone else, or a service arrangement that leaves the applicant without practical authority, may conflict with the proposed role even where the ownership percentage looks adequate.
Test substantiality and marginality against this business
The enterprise must meet the applicable non-marginality analysis; substantiality is assessed against the actual cost of purchasing or establishing it, without a universal minimum. Show present or future capacity to provide more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or the applicable significant economic contribution; projected future capacity generally should be realizable within five years of normal activity. 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.