Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: Ophelie builds and repairs harvesting equipment for cranberry growers near Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham and is buying an established nursery and garden centre across the border. She assumes she will do what her employees do when they attend an American trade show, which is present herself at the crossing with her papers. Treaty investor status does not work that way, and understanding the two available routes changes the order in which her purchase, her application and her move have to be arranged.
Two routes, and neither runs through a port of entry
A Canadian seeking treaty investor status ordinarily applies to a United States consular post, which reviews the enterprise and the investment before a visa is issued; posts commonly ask for the file in a prescribed format and register the enterprise as part of that review. The alternative applies only to someone already in the United States in another lawful status, who may seek a change of status through a petition filed with USCIS. That second route grants status without a visa, so any later departure means applying at a post before returning. Neither route is an appearance at a land crossing with a folder of documents.
What the post is reading while it reviews the enterprise
The submission is a business case as much as an immigration application. It should establish that treaty nationals own at least half of the enterprise, that Ophelie's capital is irrevocably committed and genuinely at risk, that the amount is substantial in proportion to the cost of the business she is buying, that the nursery is a real operating concern rather than an idea, and that she will develop and direct it. Because the nursery is an established business with employees and accounts, most of that is evidenced by documents the seller already has, which is a considerable advantage over funding a start from nothing.
Marginality is answered over years, not on the day
The enterprise must have the present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and her family. A business already employing staff answers this immediately. Where it does not, the answer usually rests on a five-year projection with a staffing plan behind it, and projections are only as good as their assumptions. Ophelie's plan should therefore be built from the nursery's actual trading history rather than from optimism about what she will add. The same document supports the extension request later, so writing it honestly the first time is a saving rather than a cost.
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.