Read the general investor planning overview
A Saint-David-de-Falardeau buyer should reconcile the purchase schedule with leased and supplier-owned property before using its totals in an E-2 account. The first review should turn the purchase schedule into a payment-and-control chart: identify what the investor owns, what is leased, which funds are committed, and which condition can return them. Hypothetical example: A supplier of agricultural drone-mapping services pays for software licences but leaves the acquisition price in a cancellable personal account. The investor must decide whether to make and document an irrevocable at-risk commitment, revise the transaction, or delay the E-2 filing. Bank records, escrow instructions, invoices, and signed agreements settle the point; a projected valuation does not. The business must also be real and nonmarginal, with the investor able to develop and direct it.
Explain genuine commitments rather than the premises inventory
Items present at a business may have different owners and contractual treatment. Identify actual payments and commitments without adding the full value of third-party property as though the applicant had purchased it. E-2 requires substantial lawful capital with a traced path and genuine risk; there is no universal fixed minimum. Legitimate leased resources are not automatically irrelevant to operating capacity. Reconcile every item in the premises inventory with the purchase agreement, lease, supplier contract, or financing statement. Trace the lawful source of the applicant’s funds through each transfer, retaining statements and confirmations that identify the sender and recipient. Do not count the same value twice through an asset list and a lease payment, or treat a third party’s equipment as the investor’s capital. The decision is whether the actual transaction is sufficiently documented, not whether a larger spreadsheet total looks persuasive.
Assess the enterprise beyond the asset valuation
Treaty nationality, at least 50% relevant national enterprise ownership and the ability to develop and direct remain required. A real nonmarginal enterprise must exceed minimal investor-family support or meet the applicable significant economic-contribution standard; no ten-job quota applies. Explain any material pending consent and actual escrow or financing terms instead of claiming all operating rights have already transferred. After the transaction trail is clear, test treaty ownership, the investor’s authority, operating readiness, and the nonmarginality showing. A business plan should connect its revenue and hiring assumptions to actual contracts, market evidence, premises, licences, and startup sequence. If seller consent, financing, or a key lease remains pending, disclose it and decide whether the enterprise is ready for the next step. E-2 does not provide a shortcut around a missing ownership record or a business that exists only as an intention.
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.