Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: A Torbay excavation contractor buying a U.S. equipment-rental business will find that the purchase price is not the same thing as the E-2 investment. Payments for the fleet, the yard lease, the customer contracts and the goodwill count once they are irrevocably committed; a portion held back for contingencies, a deposit that can be recovered, or inventory financed by the seller on the security of the inventory does not. The investment must also be substantial in proportion to the total cost and must leave the contractor owning and directing a non-marginal business.
Separate the price into its components
Hypothetical example: a Torbay contractor who has run a two-excavator site-preparation business agrees to buy a U.S. rental yard with twenty pieces of equipment, a leased yard and four employees. The asset purchase agreement allocates the price among equipment, goodwill, a covenant not to compete and the assignment of the lease. All of those are investment in the enterprise once paid. A separate agreement for the contractor to buy further equipment from the seller on a two-year instalment plan secured on that equipment is not the contractor's capital at risk, because the seller, not the contractor, bears the loss if the business fails. List each component and mark whether the contractor's own money is exposed.
Working capital, reserves and what officers accept
A rental business needs working capital for maintenance, insurance and payroll before receivables come in. Funds transferred into the business account and earmarked for those needs in the plan can be treated as committed if the plan is credible and the amounts are proportionate; a large unexplained balance left in the account, or money still sitting in the contractor's Canadian account with a promise to transfer, will not be. The proportionality test compares the total invested with the total cost of acquiring and running the business, and a full-price purchase of an operating yard with four staff is strong on both substantiality and marginality, since it already supports employment beyond the owner.
Control, licences and the sequence
The contractor must own at least half of the enterprise and develop and direct it. Ask the seller whether any equipment leases, dealer agreements or customer contracts require consent to assign, and whether the seller expects to remain involved; a seller who keeps a management role while the note is repaid can undermine the contractor's control. Confirm which state or local permits the yard holds and who will hold them. Sign with the purchase funds in escrow released on visa issuance, keep the Torbay business running or sell it separately, and do not operate the U.S. yard before admission in E-2 status. An E-2 spouse may work incident to status; children may study only, and E-2 leads nowhere on its own toward 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.