Read the general investor planning overview
There is no minimum dollar figure. Substantiality is a proportion of the total cost of buying or establishing the enterprise, weighted so that smaller businesses require a higher proportion. For a welding and fabrication shop in upstate New York with a total cost in the low hundreds of thousands, an investor should expect to have committed most of that cost from lawful personal funds before applying, and to show the remainder is genuinely at risk. Hypothetical example: a Canadian industrial-refrigeration technician plans to purchase a cold-storage maintenance company and must choose between buying only equipment or acquiring contracts, staff, and operating authority. That choice changes the total enterprise cost and the evidence of a real operating business. The investment must be committed, exposed to commercial loss, and sufficient for the chosen enterprise; an unspent reserve described in a business plan does not itself establish those facts.
Establish the total cost before arguing about the proportion
Hypothetical example: a South Frontenac welder with fifteen years of self-employment negotiates to buy a fabrication shop near Syracuse for the equipment and customer list, then lease the building. The total cost of the enterprise is the purchase price plus the deposits, initial inventory of steel and consumables, insurance, and the working capital needed to reach the first receivables. Write that figure down with the supporting quotes. The consular officer measures the investment against it, so a low total with most of it committed reads better than a high total with a fraction paid. Do not inflate the total to make the business look larger. Choose the transaction scope before calculating the investment ratio. Quotes, the purchase agreement, lease deposits, and working-capital schedule should all describe the same enterprise rather than a shifting collection of costs.
Count only money that is committed and at risk
Funds that have been paid to the seller, spent on equipment or deposited with an escrow agent on terms that release at visa issuance are committed. Money in the buyer's Canadian savings account earmarked for later is not, and a line of credit that has not been drawn is not. Borrowed money counts if it is secured on the buyer's own assets, for instance a mortgage on a South Frontenac property, and not if it is secured only on the shop's equipment, because then the lender rather than the investor bears the loss. The source of every dollar must be lawful and traceable, whether from the sale of the Canadian business, savings or a documented loan. Trace money from its lawful source through the buyer's account to each commitment. The decision is whether to close, use properly structured escrow, or defer a transaction whose conditions leave the funds revocable.
Show the shop is more than a wage for its owner
The marginality test asks whether the enterprise has the capacity, now or within a reasonable time, to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or to make a significant economic contribution such as hiring. A one-person shop where the buyer replaces the seller at the bench needs a credible plan to add a fabricator or an apprentice, supported by the customer contracts and the equipment capacity that would justify it. Treaty nationality must also be in place: the buyer's Canadian citizenship covers him, and the shop must be at least half owned by Canadian nationals, so a U.S. partner taking more than half would end eligibility even if the money is sufficient. Test the hiring forecast against signed maintenance agreements and the workload each technician can perform. The buyer must decide whether the plan supports payroll beyond the investor's own job, not merely whether it can pay the investor.
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.