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RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF CORMAN PARK · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Does a relative’s ownership of the sold asset establish my E-2 eligibility?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. Explain the actual funding arrangement and applicant’s rights, with the full treaty-investor conditions.

Separate funding and family status

A qualifying E spouse’s work benefit depends on valid status and appropriate evidence, not an asset contribution alone.

A spouse should not direct supplier employees, approve production, negotiate orders, or perform quality checks in the United States merely because the family owns the enterprise or an E-2 application is pending. Each family member has their own application and eligibility, so approvals and appointments may not arrive together; schedule each worker according to their own applicable authorization, including any independent permission held. The principal's case must show treaty nationality, irrevocably committed funds exposed to loss, substantiality, a genuine non-marginal enterprise, and development and direction through 50% ownership or operational control. Where a spouse intends to work, confirm what documentation an employer will accept and when it can realistically be produced, since authorization incident to status still has to be evidenced to a payroll department. Household income and enterprise capacity answer different questions, and a plan that reaches non-marginality only by counting a spouse's separate earnings has not shown what it appears to show.