Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Confirm nationality on both sides of the deal
The investor must be a Canadian citizen, and Canadian nationals must own at least fifty percent of the enterprise. A sixty percent purchase satisfies the ownership rule if the applicant holds it personally or through an entity wholly owned by Canadian nationals. If the retiring founder keeps forty percent, that is compatible, but if the applicant's Canadian spouse is a permanent resident rather than a citizen, her share would not count as treaty ownership.
Ask the seller for the records that prove a real business
Request financial statements, payroll registers, the customer list in summary, licences held by the company, vehicle and equipment schedules and the lease. These show an operating enterprise with employees and revenue, which answers the marginality question. A company that supports only the founder's living would need a credible plan to grow beyond that, backed by contracts or hiring commitments rather than projections alone.
Structure the money so it is committed but protected
Funds sitting in a Canadian account are not invested. The usual approach is an escrow that releases to the seller on visa issuance and returns to the buyer if the visa is refused; this is accepted as irrevocable commitment when the only condition is the visa. Personal savings, the sale of Canadian assets and loans secured by the investor's own assets can all qualify; a loan secured by the US business's assets does not. Keep the statements for every account the money passes through.
Secure control in the documents
Develop and direct means the investor controls the enterprise. Sixty percent ownership ordinarily satisfies this, but check the shareholder agreement for supermajority rights, board composition and any management contract that leaves the founder in charge. A Canadian master electrician licence does not transfer; state or local electrical contractor licensing is a practice matter to plan alongside the purchase, and the business's existing licence holder may need to remain for a period. E-2 provides no direct path to permanent residence.
Match the enterprise plan to committed capital
Properly structured visa-contingent escrow may qualify, but an optional or freely reversible proposal should not be described as equivalent. The enterprise must meet the applicable non-marginality analysis; substantiality is assessed against the actual cost of purchasing or establishing it, without a universal minimum. Show present or future capacity to provide more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or the applicable significant economic contribution; projected future capacity generally should be realizable within five years of normal activity. Substantial capital is judged relative to the cost of the particular enterprise, not against a fixed minimum, so the spending pattern should match the plan you are presenting. For E-2, the funds must be committed irrevocably and exposed to commercial risk; an amount that remains freely recoverable normally does not perform the same function.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.