Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: a landscaping and snow-removal contractor from L'Ange-Gardien is buying a U.S. lawn-care franchise territory. His outlay is a franchise fee, two trucks and their equipment, a deposit on a yard lease and a cash reserve for the first season. He wants to know how much of that a consular officer will count as an E-2 investment, whether the reserve sitting in a bank account counts at all and how the officer decides that the business is not marginal. This guide answers those three questions in the order they come up.
Money spent or irrevocably committed counts; money merely available does not
The franchise fee, once paid to the franchisor under a signed agreement, is invested and at risk. Trucks and equipment that have been purchased, or ordered under contracts the investor cannot cancel, count at their documented cost. A lease deposit counts, and rent paid in advance counts, because those funds are committed to the enterprise. A cash reserve is the difficult item. Money still in the investor's personal account, available to him for any purpose, is not invested. Money transferred into the enterprise's operating account and earmarked for payroll, fuel and insurance in the business plan is treated more favourably, since it is at the disposal of the business rather than the investor, but officers may still discount a reserve that looks like a cushion rather than working capital the plan actually needs.
Substantial is measured against what this business costs, not a national figure
The Foreign Affairs Manual describes a proportionality test: the amount invested is weighed against the total cost of establishing the enterprise or purchasing an existing one. A lawn-care franchise territory with two trucks has a total cost that the franchisor's disclosure document, equipment quotes and the lease largely define. If that total is modest and the investor has committed nearly all of it, the investment is substantial even though the dollar amount is small; if the total is larger and he has committed a minority, it is not. The business plan should show the calculation explicitly, listing each cost, what has been paid or committed and what remains, so the officer can see the proportion without reconstructing it. Understating the total cost to flatter the proportion is a false economy that surfaces at the interview.
Marginal means it supports only the investor; show the crew
An enterprise is marginal if it lacks the present or future capacity to generate more than enough income to support the investor and his family. Landscaping is labour-intensive, which helps: a plan that shows seasonal crews hired from the local labour market, with payroll projections for the first two seasons, demonstrates that the business will employ people other than the household. Contracts or letters of intent from commercial customers, the franchisor's territory data and the investor's own operating history in Quebec support the projections. The investor must also direct the business, which sole ownership of the franchise entity satisfies, and both he and the entity's ownership must be Canadian. Keep in mind that E-2 renews only while the business continues to qualify and provides no direct route to permanent residence.
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.