Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: Lindsay owns a welding and fabrication business in Logan Lake and wants to open a second shop in a U.S. mining region rather than buy an existing one. There is no purchase agreement to put in escrow, so the E-2 file has to be built from money already spent on a business that does not yet have customers. This guide explains which expenditures count toward the investment, why a bank balance and a signed lease are treated differently, and how to show the shop will be more than marginal before it has earned a dollar.
Spend on things the business cannot give back
Funds are at risk when they are committed to the enterprise and subject to loss if it fails. For a start-up, that means money actually spent or contractually bound: a signed commercial lease with rent paid, welding equipment, plasma tables and trucks purchased and titled to the U.S. company, insurance bound, and deposits paid to suppliers under non-refundable terms. Cash sitting in the U.S. company's account is counted only to the extent it is committed to identifiable expenses, and an officer will discount an account balance that could simply be withdrawn. Lindsay should keep every invoice and proof of payment, because the investment is proven by receipts rather than by the business plan's total.
Substantial relative to the cost of this business
There is no fixed minimum. The test compares the amount invested with the total cost of establishing the enterprise, so a fabrication shop with a modest fit-out is judged against its own cost, not against a hotel. A useful file shows a budget for everything the shop needs to open, receipts demonstrating that a large share of it has already been spent, and a funding source for the remainder that does not depend on the shop's own future revenue. Lindsay's source-of-funds chain runs from her Canadian shop's retained earnings and any personal savings, through her Canadian bank, to the U.S. company. A loan secured on her Canadian home is acceptable capital; a loan secured on the U.S. shop's own equipment is not.
Prove it will be real and non-marginal
A shop with no customers yet must show it is a genuine operating enterprise about to trade: incorporation, tax registrations, a lease, equipment, insurance, a quoted job or two, and ideally a signed contract with a mine contractor. Marginality is answered by a five-year plan showing that the shop will employ U.S. workers and generate more than Lindsay's family's living, with staffing dates that are credible for a business of that size. She must own at least half and direct the business; a Canadian citizen sole owner meets both. Her spouse would be employment-authorized incident to E-2 status. There is no direct path to permanent residence, so renewals depend on the shop continuing to qualify, which argues for building the staffing plan she can actually deliver.
What else is on your mind?
Is there one minimum investment that guarantees E-2 eligibility?Is holding money or owning an asset enough for E-2?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.