IN THIS GUIDE · Trace sale proceeds before presenting an asset value as invested funds
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Separate valuation and completed proceeds
Hypothetical example: a family asset is listed for sale while the business budget assumes the full asking price. Preserve that uncertainty. A valuation, offer and completed receipt establish different facts. Read each asset document in sequence: sale agreement, closing statement, tax record, bank credit and transfer to the enterprise or escrow. This chain distinguishes a prospective asset value from proceeds the investor actually controls. It also identifies whether a family member, lender or purchaser has a right that changes the source explanation.
Explain source path and commitment
Substantial lawful funds must be genuinely committed at risk. Use authentic sale and transfer evidence as applicable, and explain actual conditions. There is no universal fixed E-2 minimum that makes a missing funding step irrelevant. Match the amount placed at risk to the cost of buying or launching the particular enterprise. The decision is not whether a number sounds substantial in isolation, but whether the irrevocable commitment is proportionate to the undertaking and capable of loss. Retained access to funds can undermine a claim that they are committed.
Preserve the treaty and enterprise conditions
The principal needs relevant treaty nationality, qualifying ownership and development and direction. The enterprise must be real and nonmarginal under the applicable capacity test. An asset sale does not establish those requirements alone. Test nationality and ownership before spending heavily on a business plan. The enterprise must have treaty nationality, and the principal investor must develop and direct it; a passport alone does not prove the enterprise's ownership. Revenue projections should also address why the enterprise is more than a way to support only the investor's household.
Read financing and escrow accurately
Enterprise-secured debt is not qualifying capital; other borrowing requires its actual terms assessed. Properly structured visa-contingent escrow may be relevant. A future intention to use proceeds should not be described as an executed business commitment. Document any loan, security and escrow condition in the same file as the operating budget. The question is whether the investor bears the required risk and whether the money becomes available to the business under genuine terms. Do not call a contingent plan a completed investment before the records support that description.
Explain enterprise nationality and nonmarginality precisely
The enterprise generally must be at least 50% owned by nationals of the relevant treaty country; the applicant’s passport alone does not establish enterprise nationality. Nonmarginality includes capacity to provide more than a minimal living for the investor and family, with the alternative of a significant economic contribution. Apply those conditions to the real operating proposal rather than importing EB-5’s capital amounts or ten-job rule into E-2. Hypothetical example: a Corman Park soil-salinity sensor designer plans to buy a small U.S. irrigation-monitoring company after selling shares in a Canadian firm. She must choose whether to use a properly conditioned escrow or wait for a sale that has not closed. The share-sale documents, escrow instructions, purchase agreement and staffing forecast settle whether the funds are traceable, committed and directed toward a nonmarginal enterprise.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.