Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: an owner-operator who hauls aggregate and forest products from Sunbury-York South wants to buy a small U.S. short-haul trucking company with three tractors, two of which the seller leases. E-2 counts only capital the investor has irrevocably committed and placed at risk, so leased equipment, enterprise-secured loans and uncommitted savings do not count. The file has to show how much of the real acquisition cost is his own money, and that the company will do more than pay his wages.
Separate owned assets, leased assets and debt
List every item the purchase price covers: the owned tractor and trailers, the operating authority, the customer contracts, the yard lease and the leased tractors. Leased units are not acquired and their value is not investment; the assignment of the leases is an obligation of the enterprise. A loan from a bank secured on the trucks themselves is enterprise debt and does not count as his capital either. What counts is the cash he pays from his own funds, a personal loan secured on his Canadian home or guaranteed by him personally, the deposit paid, and equipment or working capital he has actually bought or committed. The accountant should prepare a table showing each category and the resulting percentage of total cost.
Make the commitment irrevocable without paying blind
Sign the purchase agreement and place the price in escrow with release conditioned only on visa issuance; that arrangement is treated as commitment while protecting him if the visa is refused. Pay the deposit, take the operating authority transfer as far as the regulator allows before ownership changes, and sign the yard lease assignment effective on closing. Keep bank statements showing each movement from his Canadian accounts, and document the source of the money — sale of his Canadian truck, savings, a home-equity line — because the officer will ask where the capital came from as well as where it went. A statement showing money still uncommitted in Canada does not establish an irrevocably committed investment.
Show a business that outgrows one driver
Marginality is judged on whether the enterprise can generate more than a minimal living for the investor and his family, now or within about five years. A company where he drives one truck and pays himself is at risk of that finding. The business plan should show the retained drivers, the contracts that keep the trucks moving, planned hiring and realistic margins after fuel, insurance and maintenance. He must develop and direct the company, which his sole ownership establishes; if a U.S. partner takes a share, Canadian ownership must stay at fifty percent or more. His spouse would be employment-authorized incident to E-2 status, and unmarried children under twenty-one may study but not work. E-2 has no direct path to permanent residence.
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.