Read the general investor planning overview
A Petit-Saguenay investor should show the actual entitlement and path of family resources used in the US enterprise. A first review should reconcile every transfer with its source document and identify when the money became committed to the enterprise. Hypothetical example: The owner of a commercial mushroom-substrate producer uses proceeds from a jointly owned sale. The decision is whether the sale, ownership, transfer, and right to use the proceeds are documented before the business pays suppliers. The chronology should be prepared before the first filing, because later explanations are tested against the dates, account records, and signed terms already in existence. A credible plan makes clear which funds are truly committed and which remain available only for personal use.
Identify ownership and transfer rights accurately
Describe whether funds are jointly owned, gifted, lent or transferred under another genuine arrangement. Do not conceal a repayment obligation by calling it a gift or impose an invented personal-account-only rule. Trace actual transactions without counting the same money again each time it moves between family accounts. Prepare a chronological ledger with supporting statements, sale documents, gift or loan terms, and proof of each transfer. The same funds should appear once in the explanation, with their later movement clearly traced. Decide before filing whether a repayment obligation leaves the investor exposed to personal liability or instead makes the enterprise itself the secured borrower; the difference can matter.
Apply the complete treaty-investor conditions
E-2 requires qualifying nationality, at least 50% relevant national enterprise ownership, development and direction and substantial lawful at-risk capital, with no fixed universal minimum. The business must be real and nonmarginal under the applicable living-income or significant economic contribution standard. Working capital and visa-contingent escrow require actual-term review; enterprise-secured debt differs from qualifying personal financing. Spousal funding does not waive these requirements or provide immediate work rights. The capital must be committed irrevocably and subject to loss, while the enterprise must be real and not marginal. Match the investment amount, contracts, premises, staffing, and forecast to the actual business rather than to a generic minimum. The applicant must be able to develop and direct the enterprise; a passive family contribution does not answer that requirement.
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.