Assess the actual commitments, rights and conditions at the proposed filing stage.
Avoid an automatic rule based only on the number of closings
A staged transaction needs individual review, including any genuine visa-contingent escrow. Do not assume either that all future steps are already effective or that every staged purchase is necessarily ineligible.
Assess each closing stage on the facts then in force. Calendar when funds become nonrefundable, assets transfer, governance rights begin, contracts activate, and operations can start. Visa-contingent escrow may generally be considered when genuinely committed, but a revocable reservation or future promise is different. At filing, confirm qualifying treaty-country nationality, not permanent residence, plus the enterprise’s treaty ownership. Direction must arise from a half interest or operating authority. The capital then committed must be lawful, substantial, and at risk, and the business must be real and non-marginal. Do not assume every step must finish first, or that signing alone satisfies unfinished conditions. E-2 does not directly provide a green card. The usual timing error is selecting a filing date from the contract title rather than operative rights.
Hypothetical example: A Saint-Ambroise metal-fabrication-shop owner plans equipment delivery, lease activation, and share closing on different dates. She maps which deposits are irrevocable and when she gains authority to hire and sign orders. Counsel evaluates the application after a genuine escrow commitment but before a later inventory purchase, using the rights effective on that date. The file neither claims future ownership early nor delays automatically for every commercial milestone.