One spouse is normally the principal investor and the other the dependant spouse, who is employment-authorized incident to status and may work in the centre. Two principal applications on one enterprise are possible only where each independently meets the tests, which is rarely necessary.
One principal, one authorized spouse, both working
Hypothetical example: the New Maryland educator and bookkeeper each want their name on the application. The simpler sequence makes the educator, who will be the licensed director, the principal investor: she is a Canadian citizen, the enterprise will be wholly Canadian-owned, the committed funds are substantial for this centre, the centre is real and non-marginal with fourteen staff, and she will develop and direct it as its director. The bookkeeper enters as her E-2 spouse, is employment-authorized incident to status, and may run the centre's finances or take any other job.
Presenting both as principals would require each to show the develop-and-direct role independently and would double the paperwork without adding permission. Neither route leads directly to permanent residence, and the couple's children may study but not work as dependants. The first review should trace treaty nationality, ownership, source of funds, expenditure, and the investor's operational role.
Account records and transfer documents settle where money originated; signed contracts and paid invoices settle whether it has been committed; the business plan addresses projected non-marginality. Hypothetical example: a speech-language pathologist plans to buy a rehabilitation clinic with a silent partner. The reviewer maps ownership and decision rights, identifies which funds are actually exposed, and tests whether the proposed role involves directing the clinic instead of occasional advice.
That process identifies a structural problem before money is placed beyond recovery.