Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: a Central York seed and crop-input retailer funds a U.S. agricultural supply outlet by transferring a large sum into the new company's bank account and arranging a line of credit for the rest. Nothing has been committed. Capital counts when it is irrevocably committed and subject to loss if the business fails, and money sitting in an account the investor controls can be withdrawn tomorrow, which is precisely why it does not qualify. Hypothetical example: a small-batch spice blender has paid for packaging samples but has not signed a production lease or ordered the commercial grinder. The owner must decide whether to accept a contingent purchase arrangement or spend more before applying. The answer depends on whether the commitments expose the capital to loss and create a real operating business, not on the total balance held in a bank account.
Irrevocable means you cannot take it back
The test is whether the funds are subject to partial or total loss if the enterprise is unsuccessful. Money transferred into a company the investor controls remains within his control and can be moved out again, so it is capacity rather than commitment. What converts it is expenditure and obligation: an executed lease with the deposit paid, inventory purchased and delivered, equipment bought and installed, fit-out contracts signed and progress payments made, licences and insurance obtained, staff hired under contracts. Each of those creates something that cannot simply be reversed, and each is documented by an invoice, a receipt and a bank entry. The first review should label each expenditure by reversibility. A refundable reservation is different from a paid deposit under an enforceable contract, and the invoice, contract, and bank entry together show which side of that line the item occupies.
An undrawn facility is not capital at all
A line of credit that has been approved but not drawn is a possibility rather than an investment, and it should not be counted in the amount invested. Where credit is used, the question becomes whether the investor is personally and primarily liable for the debt and whether the enterprise's own assets secure it, because money borrowed against the business is not at the investor's risk in the way this test requires. Sort the funding into personal capital, personal borrowing and enterprise-secured borrowing before totalling anything, and expect the qualifying figure to be noticeably smaller than the headline one. For borrowed money, identify the borrower, the lender, the collateral, and the repayment obligation before adding it to the investment schedule. A facility that can be cancelled or that puts only business assets at risk needs different treatment from personal capital actually committed.
Show the money leaving, item by item
Build a schedule reconciling the amount claimed to the evidence: each item of expenditure, its date, the supplier, the invoice number and the bank entry that paid it. Attach the lease, the purchase orders, the delivery notes and the paid invoices behind it. Where the purchase of an existing business is involved, an agreement conditioned on the immigration decision with the price held in escrow can achieve commitment without exposing the buyer to an unconditional closing. Where unspent working capital forms part of the plan, show the schedule on which it will be spent and what it buys. The investor and enterprise must also have treaty nationality, the investment must be substantial relative to the enterprise's cost, the enterprise must be real, operating and non-marginal, and the investor must develop and direct it, ordinarily through at least fifty percent ownership or operational control. Treaty-investor status does not itself provide permanent residence. A useful decision table lists item, supplier, date, amount, evidence, and operational purpose. It reveals both missing proof and whether the proposed business has enough equipment, inventory, staff, and cash to operate beyond a personal livelihood.
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.