IN THIS GUIDE · A contractor whose proposed share split disqualifies the business before the money is counted
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Nationality is tested on the investor and on the business
Two separate nationality findings are needed and they are often collapsed into one. The investor must hold the nationality of a treaty country, and Canada is one. The enterprise must then itself possess that nationality, which is established by at least fifty percent ownership by nationals of the same treaty country who are not permanent residents of the United States. Marilou's citizenship is not in question; the company's is, because the handshake leaves treaty nationals holding a minority. Fixing it is arithmetic rather than argument: an even split, or a majority to her, restores the position. Where ownership sits behind a holding company or a trust, the analysis follows the shares up to the individuals who ultimately own them, so a corporate layer does not cure a shortfall and can easily create one nobody noticed.
Irrevocably committed means she can lose it
The capital must be at risk in the commercial sense and irrevocably committed to the enterprise. Funds still sitting in a personal account and merely earmarked for the purchase are neither. The usual structure that satisfies this is a signed purchase agreement with funds in escrow, released on approval, where the escrow terms make the commitment real rather than optional. An arrangement she can walk away from with her money intact is, by definition, not at risk. Spending that is unrecoverable helps for the same reason: a paid lease deposit, a completed equipment purchase, insurance bound, licences obtained and payroll met are all evidence that the commitment has already happened. Borrowed funds can qualify where the loan is secured by her own personal assets rather than by the assets of the American business itself.
Substantial is a proportion, and marginal is about who the business supports
There is no fixed dollar threshold. Substantiality is measured in proportion to the total cost of purchasing an established enterprise or of creating a viable new one, so a modest sum can be substantial for a small operation and a large sum insufficient for a capital-heavy one. Buying a going concern makes the proportion easier to demonstrate, since the purchase price supplies the denominator. Marginality is a different question and asks whether the enterprise has the present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and her family. Six existing employees answer that convincingly, which is one of the strongest features of this particular deal. A business that would only ever support Marilou herself would fail this element even if fully funded and profitable.
What the category gives, and what it withholds
It gives an investor who develops and directs the enterprise, ordinarily through majority ownership or through demonstrated operational control, the ability to run it, and it can be extended while the business continues to qualify. A spouse admitted as a dependant is employment-authorized incident to status. What it withholds is permanence. There is no direct path from this status to permanent residence, and it remains tied to the enterprise: if the business is sold, closed or ceases to meet the conditions, the status supporting the household ends with it. Families who expect to settle permanently should understand that before capital moves, because the route to residence, if there is to be one, is a separate matter to be planned with counsel rather than a later step in the same process.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.