Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Read the actual franchise obligations
Identify what each fee or payment provides and which resources are genuinely committed. E-2 capital must be substantial, lawfully sourced and traced and at risk, with no fixed universal minimum. Training access or a licence agreement does not automatically mean the US enterprise is operating or that every future royalty is money already invested. Read every payment obligation in sequence: purchase price, inventory, equipment, lease, opening stock, franchise fee and working capital. Then identify the bank record and contract clause that support each claimed commitment. Money kept freely available for a future choice is not the same as a contribution that cannot simply be recalled. The investor must decide whether the structure demonstrates a substantial commitment relative to this enterprise, including any financing, without counting a seller’s promise or an unsupported forecast as invested capital.
Establish the applicant’s enterprise conditions
Treaty nationality, at least 50% relevant national ownership and the applicant’s development and direction remain necessary. The business must be real and nonmarginal under the more-than-minimal-living or applicable significant economic contribution standard. Canadians generally need an E visa. Assess working capital and visa-contingent escrow on genuine terms, and distinguish enterprise-secured debt from qualifying personal financing. A successful franchisor does not guarantee the applicant’s approval or results. The nationality and ownership review should happen before business-plan drafting, because the enterprise must have the relevant treaty ownership and the investor needs to develop and direct it. Funds need to be irrevocably committed; they must also be subject to the enterprise’s risk. The business must be real, operating and not marginal. A forecast should identify the assumptions that support revenue, staffing and the investor’s role, while recognizing that E-2 has no automatic route to permanent residence.
Keep the investor's capital distinct from customer cash
Substantiality is judged against the cost of the particular United States enterprise; there is no universal minimum figure and no ten-job rule. Funds sitting in an escrow account that returns to the buyer if the deal fails are not at risk in the sense the regulation intends. If sales, production or hiring stall each time you leave, the non-marginality picture weakens, because the enterprise must show capacity beyond a minimal living for you and your family, now or in a reasonable future period, or a significant economic contribution. Repairs shift the budget, delay the first customer, and raise questions about what was actually committed and what remains negotiable with the seller or landlord. Loans are not prohibited, but capital secured by the assets of the enterprise itself is treated differently from personally secured borrowing. E-2 requires treaty-country nationality for both the investor and the enterprise; Canada qualifies, and in this scenario the Canadian citizen must own at least 50 percent of the enterprise or otherwise possess operational control. Ask the seller which figures come from financial statements, asset schedules and appraisals, and which come from projections nobody has financed. Trace each transfer from the investor to the enterprise, noting any escrow release, seller financing, or refund right that changes the risk analysis.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.