Enough to cover the actual cost of establishing it, as itemized in the plan, with no fixed minimum in law. Officers judge proportionality against that cost and marginality against the hiring plan.
The plan sets the number; the receipts prove it was met
There is no statutory threshold for an E-2 investment, and a figure heard from another applicant is not the rule. For a Torbay contractor starting an HVAC service company, the relevant number is the honest cost of opening: premises deposit and first months of rent, service vehicles, refrigerant-recovery and diagnostic equipment, hand tools and inventory, licensing, insurance and bonding, software, initial marketing and enough working capital to meet payroll until receivables flow. That total, itemized in the business plan, is the denominator; the investment actually made is the numerator; and a start-up that has funded the whole of it is fully invested.
Separately, the government charges are the Department of State visa application fee and any reciprocity fee for an E-2 applicant abroad, or the USCIS fees for a change of status if applying from inside the United States, all on the official fee pages. Professional fees for reviewing the plan and the file are agreed in advance. Household relocation costs are not part of the investment and should not be counted in it.