IN THIS GUIDE · A five-month campground and the marginality test
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Marginality when the revenue is seasonal
An enterprise is marginal if it lacks the present or future capacity to generate more than enough income to provide a minimal living for the investors and their family. A campground that nets only the owners' living costs after a five-month season would fail this test unless the business plan credibly shows growth or job creation within five years. The strongest answer is payroll beyond the household: four seasonal employees, a caretaker and a plan to add cabins that extends the season. The financial projections should present a full calendar year, with off-season costs shown honestly against summer revenue, rather than an annualized peak month. Reconcile projections to seller tax returns, reservations, payroll, and seasonality; a growth forecast is persuasive only when the assumptions can be checked.
Which document decides it
The purchase agreement decides whether the funds are committed. A deposit the buyers may reclaim at will is not at risk; a purchase conditioned only on E-2 visa issuance may still be irrevocably committed when the assets are held in escrow for release upon issuance and the couple is otherwise obligated to close. The agreement should transfer the operating business, its permits, reservations and equipment, not merely the land, because a land purchase alone reads as a passive real-estate holding rather than an operating enterprise. Keep every transfer traceable from lawful source to escrow or the business account, and distinguish secured debt on personal assets from debt secured by the enterprise itself.
Developing and directing a campground
The couple must own at least half or hold operational control. If they buy the business together as Canadian citizens, ownership is not the issue; involvement is. The plan should show which of them manages reservations, staff and maintenance and that neither intends to run the business remotely from Canada in the off-season while a manager does the work. An ownership agreement, bank authority, operational schedule, and hiring plan should demonstrate active direction rather than an arrangement in which a manager runs everything without the investor.
Visa route and the family
Canadian citizens require an E-2 visa issued by a U.S. consulate; unlike TN there is no visa-free port-of-entry route, though a change of status inside the United States is possible in some cases. An E-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status. Children under 21 may study but not work, and E-2 has no direct path to permanent residence. The consular process requires a complete current record, so do not schedule the transaction around hoped-for interview timing or treat a visitor admission as permission to operate the business.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.