Do not apply a categorical rule that all working capital is excluded or that every account balance automatically qualifies. Assess the actual commitment, control, use and risk of the funds under the investment requirements. A reserve described in a plan needs evidence of its real arrangement.
Distinguish business resources from household savings
Identify which funds are committed to enterprise obligations and which remain available for personal use. Explain the low-season cash needs and the proposed funding. Spending the reserve on unnecessary items merely to create invoices can harm the business without resolving the legal analysis.
E-2 requires treaty nationality and a real operating enterprise. The capital must be irrevocably committed and exposed to commercial risk, must be substantial in context, and the enterprise cannot be marginal. The investor must be able to develop and direct the enterprise; a plan for passive ownership is not enough. Sort personal living funds from money committed to the venture, then identify deposits, equipment, inventory, professional fees, compliance costs, and operating reserves. The decision is whether the enterprise commitment is substantial for this business, not whether a single invoice looks impressive. Use current amounts and explain refundable deposits, cancelled purchases, or funds still under the investor's unrestricted control. Spending on unnecessary items solely to enlarge a total may harm the business and still fail to show a sound commercial commitment. Hypothetical example: A custom bicycle-frame builder pays a refundable showroom deposit and an irrevocable machinery deposit. He records the different terms, retains the contracts, and asks whether the machinery commitment and remaining operating resources present a coherent at-risk investment picture.