IN THIS GUIDE · Structure the purchase of an existing U.S. business so the funds count as committed
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Use escrow the way the Foreign Affairs Manual describes it
E-2 requires that the investor has invested or is actively in the process of investing, with funds irrevocably committed to the enterprise. Money sitting in the buyer’s own account is not committed. The State Department accepts funds held in escrow where release to the seller is conditioned solely on issuance of the visa, because the investor has then done everything within her power and the funds are beyond her recall. The escrow agreement should say exactly that: the purchase closes automatically on visa issuance, the buyer cannot withdraw for any other reason, and the seller is bound to convey. An escrow that either party can cancel at will does not show commitment. The key drafting choice is to make the release condition narrow enough that the investor cannot simply withdraw for a change of mind, yet protective following a visa refusal. The escrow agreement, rather than an informal email, should establish that balance.
Show the amount is substantial for this business
There is no fixed minimum for E-2. Substantiality is proportional: the invested amount is compared with the total cost of purchasing an established business of this kind, or of creating one. Where the buyers pay the full purchase price for the going concern, including equipment, inventory, vehicle fleet and goodwill, the investment is close to the total cost and comfortably substantial. If part of the price is seller-financed, only the portion actually paid and any indebtedness secured by the buyers’ personal assets counts; a loan secured on the business itself does not. The valuation, the asset schedule and proof of payment establish the ratio.
Prove it is a real, non-marginal enterprise the investor directs
An existing operation with employees, bookings, insurance and licences is plainly real. Marginality is assessed by whether the enterprise has the present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or makes a significant economic contribution; staff wages and the existing payroll answer that. Develop-and-direct is satisfied by the wife’s sole ownership of the purchasing company and her role as operating manager. Ownership by Canadian nationals of at least 50% keeps the enterprise’s treaty nationality intact, so the couple should not bring in a non-treaty partner above that line.
What to ask the seller and the lawyer before signing
Ask the seller for three years of financial statements, the employee list with wage records, the equipment titles, the permits that must transfer and the lease assignment terms, because those documents feed the substantiality and marginality evidence. Ask the closing lawyer to draft the escrow so that the sole release condition is visa issuance, with a refund clause if the visa is refused. Ask which accounts will pay the price, so the source-of-funds record can follow each transfer. E-2 leads to no permanent residence by itself, so ask what the family’s long-term plan is.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.