Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: a buyer from Waterloo, Quebec agrees to acquire a U.S. restaurant supply company, paying part in cash and the balance under a promissory note secured by the company’s own assets. Commercially this is ordinary. For treaty investor purposes the security matters: indebtedness secured by the assets of the enterprise itself is generally not treated as the applicant’s capital at risk, while indebtedness for which the investor is personally liable and which is secured by the investor’s own assets can be. The decision is whether the money is committed to a real enterprise under terms that expose it to loss, rather than merely reserved for a possible purchase. Hypothetical example: a water-treatment distributor signs a purchase agreement with a broad unilateral refund right; the buyer must decide whether to revise the commitment terms before relying on the payment.
Read the security, not the size of the note
The question is not how much of the price is financed but what stands behind the financing. Where the lender or seller looks only to the business assets for repayment, the risk sits with the enterprise rather than with the investor, and the financed portion generally does not count toward the investor’s committed capital. Where the investor is personally liable and has pledged assets they personally own, the exposure is genuine and the amount is more likely to count. Ask the lawyer drafting the note to state plainly which structure is being used, and get that answer before signing rather than after. Read each contract for release, cancellation, security, and refund provisions.
Recalculate what is actually invested
Once the security is understood, restate the numbers. The invested amount for these purposes is the cash paid plus any personally secured financing, not the headline purchase price. Then test that restated figure against the substantiality requirement, which is measured in relation to the total cost of purchasing or establishing an enterprise of this type. A structure that looked comfortable at the contract price can look thin once the seller note is removed from the calculation, and discovering that before closing leaves room to change the deal terms or increase the cash component. Trace the funds from lawful origin through the final business expenditure.
Hold the other requirements steady while the deal changes
Deal restructuring tends to move other elements without anyone noticing. Confirm that treaty nationality still holds after any change in the ownership split, since the enterprise’s nationality follows its owners and U.S. permanent residence does not count. Confirm that the applicant will still develop and direct the enterprise, ordinarily through at least half the ownership or through documented operational control. Confirm the enterprise remains real, operating and more than marginal. And keep in mind that the category offers no direct path to permanent residence, while a dependent spouse is employment-authorized incident to status. Test the operating plan against the enterprise’s capacity beyond the investor’s household.
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.