No universal dollar threshold determines E-2 eligibility. Substantiality relates the investment to the actual business, while nationality, commitment, direction and the enterprise requirements must also be satisfied.
Explain what the budget establishes
Identify the business being purchased or established and the costs the proposal includes. Flag expenses outside a headline purchase price and distinguish estimates from completed payments. Ask how the actual commitment will be assessed rather than selecting an amount from another person’s application. A larger payment does not repair an unresolved nationality or operating-business problem.
Provisions that concern consular officers include requirements for unanimous consent on operating decisions, a minority veto over hiring or spending within normal ranges, a deadlock mechanism that hands control to the minority, or a management agreement placing operations with someone else. E-2 requires treaty-country nationality — Canadian permanent residence alone does not establish it — and the enterprise itself must carry qualifying treaty ownership, with the investor positioned to develop and direct it through at least 50 percent ownership or genuine operational control. The classification for employees requires that the enterprise be at least fifty percent owned by treaty-country nationals, that the employee share that nationality, and that the position be executive or supervisory, or require special qualifications essential to the enterprise.