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RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF MACDONALD · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Must every transaction close before any E-2 review can occur?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. A review can assess the actual proposed commitment and conditions, including potentially qualifying escrow arrangements.

Identify decisions still open

Describe the genuine stage and obtain advice on the structure before relying on a closing date. Commercial completion does not itself authorize U.S. work.

The sequence that works is: negotiate the deal with a visa condition, sign, fund the escrow, prepare the business plan and consular forms, submit the application and attend the interview, then close on issuance. The funds must be irrevocably committed before the application is decided, so the usual structure is to sign, place the purchase price in escrow releasing on approval, and apply. Ideally with a closing structured so that funds are committed through an escrow that releases on visa issuance, timed before the winter booking calendar opens. Agree in advance what happens if consent slips: extending the outside closing date, renegotiating the escrow release, or withdrawing. The escrow agreement should be explicit that the only contingency is visa issuance; a clause allowing the buyers to withdraw for other reasons weakens the commitment. The structure that protects both sides is a conditional agreement with funds in escrow that returns the money on a refusal and completes on an approval.