Use a full operating year to assess a seasonal business

An E-2 plan should explain both revenue peaks and obligations outside them. Canada is a treaty country, but the investor and enterprise must have qualifying treaty nationality; the enterprise ordinarily needs at least 50% treaty-country ownership. The investment must be substantial, irrevocably committed and at risk in a real, operating, non-marginal enterprise that the investor develops and directs through at least 50% ownership or operational control. E-2 provides no direct path to permanent residence. The decision is not simply how much money to spend. It is whether the investor can document treaty nationality, qualifying ownership and control, lawful funds, a real operating enterprise, and capital irrevocably committed at commercial risk. The business must not be marginal. Hypothetical example: A precision-mushroom cultivation entrepreneur can either keep funds in a revocable account while seeking a site or sign a lease and equipment contracts with defined cancellation terms. She chooses the path that accurately demonstrates commitment while preserving a truthful operating plan. The final record should also identify the investor's decision-making authority and the company's plan if a family member cannot help. That is a concrete way to show active development and direction without silently assuming unauthorised labour. Before submitting the case, compare the written plan with current invoices, account records, ownership documents, and the investor's actual role. The decision-maker should be able to see a functioning commercial story, including risks and ongoing obligations, rather than a collection of purchases selected only for a filing total. The investor should retain that comparison as the record of why the chosen commitments, rather than unspent cash, support the application.