Capital size does not eliminate the development-and-direction requirement. The actual rights and enterprise conditions still matter.
Do not trade one condition for another
A larger contribution is not automatically authority to direct the business.
Show investment capital and business operating costs separately from government filing charges, professional services, and family or travel expenses, and confirm current official fees and the exact scope of each professional engagement before committing funds. Loan repayments, family covenants, escrow conditions, inventory, rent, payroll, and reserves should appear according to the real agreements even if someone informally used the word “gift.” There is no universal E-2 minimum; substantiality is assessed relative to the business. Build the number from the transaction itself - purchase price, inventory and equipment, deposit and lease costs, licensing, fit-out, insurance, and enough working capital to carry the business through its first slow months rather than only to the day of closing. Budget the categories apart from one another: purchase price, the working capital the business genuinely needs, government and consular charges (read those from the current official fee schedules rather than a figure quoted in a listing), legal and accounting fees, and records retrieval.