Read the general investor planning overview
An E-2 investment is judged on four commercial facts: the enterprise is real and operating, the funds are irrevocably committed, the amount is substantial in proportion to the cost of the business, and the business is not marginal. A small service business with one owner-operator is the case most likely to fail the last two tests. Before signing, a Lac-Beauport buyer should reconstruct the seller's true cost base, decide how much of the price will be paid from personal funds, and produce a plan showing the business will employ others or contribute more than a living for the investor.
Establish what the business is really worth
Hypothetical example: a Lac-Beauport couple who ran a family catering service consider buying a U.S. catering and event-supply business advertised at a price that includes equipment, vehicles, a client list and goodwill. Ask the seller for three years of tax returns, a fixed-asset register with purchase dates, and the lease. Separate the tangible assets from goodwill, since an inflated goodwill figure raises the total cost of the business and makes the same investment look proportionally smaller. Obtain an independent valuation if the price and the returns do not reconcile. The substantiality test is a ratio, and both its numerator and denominator have to be defensible. A buyer who overpays does not strengthen the case; a buyer who documents a fair price and funds most of it personally does.
Decide how much is personal capital and how much is borrowed
Funds count as investment when they are the investor's own or are borrowed on the investor's personal security; a loan secured on the business's assets is not the investor's risk. If the couple intends to finance part of the purchase, the loan should be secured on Canadian property or personal guarantees, and the loan agreement should say so. Capital spent before the application on equipment, deposits and lease guarantees counts if it is documented and cannot be recovered. Keep a ledger of every commitment with the date, the payee, the amount and the document that proves it, and reconcile the ledger to bank statements. The application will present the total invested against the total cost of the business, and the ledger is what makes that comparison credible rather than asserted.
Show that the enterprise will be more than a living
The marginality test asks whether the business has the present or future capacity to generate more than enough income to support the investor and family, or to make a significant economic contribution, typically through employing U.S. workers. A catering business with two part-time employees and a plan to add event staff within two years can meet the test if the plan is specific: projected revenue by season, hiring dates, payroll estimates and the basis for each number. A plan that projects only the owner's salary does not. Include the seller's historical payroll as a baseline, the couple's own operating experience as evidence the projections are achievable, and a five-year horizon, since the same evidence will be needed at renewal. Non-marginality is assessed at application and again at each extension, so the plan is a commitment, not a brochure.
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.