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Hypothetical example: Aurélien hauls logs and moves equipment for contractors out of Laird and wants to open a wood-chip and biomass transfer yard on the American side, serving mills that burn residuals. His plan is efficient and asset-light: leased tractors, a leased yard, a leased loader and a rented scale house. Everything about it is commercially sound, and almost none of it looks like invested capital to someone assessing a treaty investment.
Leases are not the same as capital, though they can support it
The requirement is that funds be irrevocably committed to the enterprise and placed at risk of loss. A monthly lease payment is an operating cost, not a commitment of capital, and a plan built entirely on rentals can leave very little that has actually been put in. What does count includes deposits and prepayments that will not be returned, leasehold improvements to the yard, the scale and weighbridge if purchased, the first fit-out, licences and permits, working capital genuinely transferred into the business account, and equipment bought outright rather than rented. Aurélien can still run an asset-light operation, but he should expect to be measured on what he committed, not on what he arranged.
Conditional commitment is the most common self-inflicted wound
Careful buyers make everything contingent, and contingency is precisely what defeats this requirement. Money held in escrow to be released only if a visa is granted has not been committed; a lease that can be cancelled without penalty on refusal has not been entered into; a supply contract with a walk-away clause proves nothing. Escrow arrangements can be used, but they have to be structured with advice so that the funds are genuinely at stake rather than parked. The practical consequence is that Aurélien has to decide whether he is prepared to own an operating yard whether or not he personally is admitted, and to plan for that outcome before he signs anything.
A yard with two employees raises the marginality question early
The enterprise must be real and operating and must do more than provide a minimal living for the investor and his family. A transfer yard staffed by Aurélien, a loader operator and a part-time weighmaster is small enough that the question will be asked directly. The answer is either present capacity or a documented plan showing significantly more than a minimal living, or a significant economic contribution, within a period ordinarily understood as about five years, supported by contracted volumes, hiring by role and month, and the reasoning behind the forecasts. He must also be coming to develop and direct the business, so ownership and operational control need to be arranged accordingly, and he should know that this route does not itself lead 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.