Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Read authority during the transition
Identify the buyer’s effective rights and the seller’s retained duties. Relevant treaty-country nationals must own at least 50% of the enterprise, and the applicant must develop and direct it. Ownership percentages alone do not explain all day-to-day authority. Read the share purchase agreement, operating agreement, bank mandate and transition contract together. A veto that affects ordinary hiring, spending or customer decisions may matter more than a friendly description of the seller as an adviser. The applicant should decide whether to negotiate clearer authority before filing when those records conflict. Explain what the buyer will do after entry and who will carry out any work reserved to the seller, without treating a temporary consultant as proof of investor control.
Support the enterprise and investment
Substantial at-risk capital with lawful source and path, a real business and nonmarginality remain required. The economic standard includes more than minimal living or significant economic contribution under applicable rules. No universal E-2 minimum or EB-5 ten-job quota applies. Canadians generally require an E visa before using that classification. E-2 status has no direct path to permanent residence. Hypothetical example: an Esquimalt aquaculture net-cleaning entrepreneur agrees to buy a US service yard, but the purchase contract leaves the principal equipment payment refundable until a supplier approves transfer of the washing system warranty. The investor must decide whether to make the payment nonrefundable, obtain the consent, or file later with a different operating plan. The signed purchase agreement, escrow instructions, supplier consent and wire record determine what money is committed and what assets the business can use. A forecast that assumes the equipment is available cannot replace those records. Review operating expenses separately from money paid to acquire the business. A lease payment, equipment order or supplier prepayment may assist only when its terms, purpose and proof of payment show an actual business commitment. The investor should not count the same cost twice as purchase consideration and working capital. If a contract can be cancelled at will with a routine refund, explain that limitation rather than calling the amount capital already exposed to loss. Compare the committed amount with the type and cost of the enterprise, not a numerical threshold borrowed from another deal.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.