Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: a Coaldale buyer is looking at a small U.S. commercial-cleaning contractor with modest equipment and eleven part-time staff, and keeps being told her investment is too small. There is no fixed qualifying amount. Substantiality is judged in relation to what it costs to buy or establish this type of enterprise, which is why a service business and a factory are not measured on the same scale.
Establish the denominator before arguing about the numerator
The comparison is between what the investor has committed and the total cost of purchasing an established enterprise of this kind or creating one from nothing. So the first task is to price that total honestly: purchase price, vehicles, equipment, initial supplies, bonding and insurance, deposits and the working capital the business needs before receipts arrive. Once that figure exists, the proportion can be discussed sensibly. Without it, everyone is comparing a number to an impression. Keep quotations, invoices and the seller's asset list, because the denominator has to be evidenced as much as the investment does.
Distinguish committed capital from the operating budget
A five-year lease at a stated monthly rent is a future obligation, not capital invested today. Payroll that will be incurred next year is not either. What counts is what has been irrevocably committed and placed at risk: the amount paid or unconditionally obligated for the business and its assets. Set out a schedule showing each item, the amount, the date and the document that proves it, and keep the projected operating expenses on a separate page. Mixing the two inflates the apparent investment and invites the reviewer to discount the whole schedule.
Answer marginality with the plan you would show a bank
The enterprise must not be marginal, meaning it must have the present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or otherwise make a significant economic contribution. For a cleaning contractor with eleven part-time staff, the existing payroll and contract book are strong evidence, and the projections should be built from the actual customer list rather than from optimism. Show revenue by customer, the contract terms, the cost structure and the resulting owner's income over a realistic horizon. The investor and enterprise must have treaty-country nationality, and Canada qualifies; the investor must develop and direct the enterprise, ordinarily through at least fifty per cent ownership or operational control. E-2 provides no direct path 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.