IN THIS GUIDE · Read the purchase conditions alongside the qualifying investment
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Identify what the agreement actually transfers
Hypothetical example: a purchase gives the investor some voting rights while the seller retains operating authority for a transition. Review the genuine rights and how the applicant will develop and direct the enterprise. Qualifying treaty nationality of applicant and enterprise matters, generally including at least 50% ownership by nationals of the relevant treaty country.
Assess commitment rather than isolated wording
The investment must involve substantial lawful capital committed and at risk in relation to the business. There is no universal fixed E-2 minimum. Examine actual payment, conditions and exposure; a qualifying visa-contingent escrow may matter, so neither an unsigned intention nor an assumption that every transaction must already close is a sound substitute for review.
Read financing and collateral together
Trace lawful source and path, the borrower and actual loan security. Personal-asset-secured or unsecured loans may qualify; enterprise-asset-secured debt does not qualify as invested capital. Mixed arrangements require assessment. A contract’s purchase price does not show how much qualifying capital the investor has actually committed. Debt secured partly by enterprise assets is excluded even when personal assets are also pledged; personal-only secured or unsecured borrowing may qualify on its actual terms.
Test the enterprise beyond the seller’s assurance
The enterprise must be real and operating and nonmarginal: capable of more than a minimal living for the investor and family or of a significant economic contribution. Review the operation and credible financial evidence. Do not import EB-5’s investment amounts or job requirement into E-2.
Explain enterprise nationality and nonmarginality precisely
The enterprise generally must be at least 50% owned by nationals of the relevant treaty country; the applicant’s passport alone does not establish enterprise nationality. Nonmarginality includes capacity to provide more than a minimal living for the investor and family, with the alternative of a significant economic contribution. Apply those conditions to the real operating proposal rather than importing EB-5’s capital amounts or ten-job rule into E-2. The investor must also intend to depart when E status ends; business ownership does not replace that individual requirement. If relying on future capacity, it should generally be realizable within five years after normal business activity begins.
Confirm the investment is substantial and irrevocably committed
The investor must be coming to develop and direct the enterprise, which is ordinarily shown by owning at least half of it or by holding operational control through a management position or other device. E-2 is a nonimmigrant classification for a treaty-national investor who has made, or is actively in the process of making, a substantial investment in a bona fide U.S. enterprise and will personally lead its development and direction. Franchise agreements set pricing rules, supplier requirements, territory limits, hours, staffing standards, and approval rights over transfers. E-2 funds must be irrevocably committed, exposed to commercial risk and directed to an enterprise that is not marginal. Use the executed lease, service contracts, licences where required, pricing assumptions and staffing plan rather than a seller’s optimistic forecast. Substantiality is assessed proportionally against the total cost of buying or creating the enterprise: a modest sum can be substantial for a small service business and plainly insufficient for a manufacturing acquisition. The central question is whether the committed sum makes the enterprise viable, not whether it clears a borrowed headline number.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.