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A Frontenac Islands couple who have kept boats all their lives want to buy a small marina with a fuel dock and winter storage in northern New York. They will fund it with savings, a loan secured on their island home and a loan the seller proposes to secure on the marina itself. E-2 counts only funds that are the investors' own and at risk. Money borrowed against personal assets they keep counts; money borrowed against the marina does not. That distinction shapes both the purchase structure and the substantiality analysis.
Personal collateral counts; enterprise collateral does not
Hypothetical example: the Frontenac Islands couple's lender will advance funds against their island house, which they intend to keep. Those funds are at their personal risk, because if the marina fails they still owe the loan and could lose the house, so they count as investment. The seller's proposed note secured on the marina's docks and land is different: if the business fails the seller takes back the marina and the couple's exposure is limited, so those funds are not at risk in the required sense and are excluded. If the seller note is a large share of the price, the counted investment shrinks, and with it the proportion the substantiality test measures. The purchase agreement should be drafted with that arithmetic in mind.
Making the counted investment substantial
Substantiality is proportional to the cost of the enterprise. If the marina costs a given amount and the couple's counted funds cover most of it, the test is comfortably met; if seller financing secured on the business covers half, the counted proportion may be too thin. The remedy is either more personal funds, a larger loan on personal assets or renegotiating the seller's security. Working capital committed to the operating account also counts once it is irrevocably committed. The couple should have the accountant prepare a table showing each source, its collateral and whether it counts, and attach it to the business plan.
Real, operating and directed
A marina with slip rentals, fuel sales, winter storage and a small service shop is an operating enterprise, not a passive property, provided the couple run it. The plan should name which spouse manages slips and fuel, which handles storage and service contracts, and who is employed beyond the family. Both are Canadian citizens, so nationality of ownership is satisfied. They will apply for E-2 visas at a U.S. consulate; the E-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status, children under 21 may study but not work, and E-2 offers no direct path to permanent residence. The escrow releasing on visa issuance should hold the counted funds, not the seller's note.
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.