IN THIS GUIDE · Ask the seller of a U.S. site-preparation business the questions that decide E-2 before signing
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Ask what is actually being sold
A site-preparation business is largely equipment and customer relationships. Ask the seller for the titles and lien searches on each excavator, dozer and truck, the assignment terms of any municipal or developer contracts, the lease or deed for the yard and the list of employees with their wages. If the machines are financed, the purchase price must be understood net of debt the enterprise carries, because money the business owes is not the investors’ capital. What the seller says on the phone is not evidence; the schedules attached to the agreement are.Match every expenditure to an invoice, contract, escrow instruction, receipt, or bank transfer. The comparison identifies money still under the investor’s control and separates it from genuinely committed spending.
Structure the closing so the money is at risk but not lost
E-2 funds must be irrevocably committed, yet a buyer should not pay in full before the visa is decided. The accepted solution is an escrow that releases the price to the seller when the visa is issued and returns it if it is refused, with no other conditions. Ask the seller’s lawyer whether they will accept that structure, and get the escrow agreement in writing. Deposits already paid, equipment already bought and the lease already signed all count as committed; a balance sitting in a Canadian account does not.Set ownership out by nationality and percentage before incorporating or transferring shares. A later correction can change who will lead the venture and may require new corporate documents.
Show the business will support more than the family
A two-person operation whose income only covers the owners’ living costs is marginal. The file should show the seller’s recent financial statements, the existing employees who will be retained and a realistic plan for the next five years including hires. If the couple intend to run the machines themselves at first, say so, but show the crew they will employ and the contracts that will pay them.Test the operating plan against licences, leases, staffing, inventory, and realistic opening dates. A polished forecast cannot replace the practical records showing that a real commercial activity will begin.
Confirm ownership, control and the spouse’s position
The enterprise must be at least half owned by Canadian citizens, and the investors must direct it. If both spouses buy equal shares, one should be the principal E-2 investor and the other can apply as a spouse, who is employment-authorized incident to status, or as a second investor. E-2 status has no direct route to permanent residence, so the couple should decide early whether that matters to them.Keep a renewal file from the first day: tax filings, payroll, contracts, customer invoices, and bank activity. Future applications turn on the continuing enterprise, not just the purchase-stage record.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.