Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: an Otonabee-South Monaghan agricultural-services operator wants to start a United States custom crop-application business where the aircraft, the applicator equipment and the hangar would all be leased rather than bought. Very little of the money buys an asset, which makes the investment look small on a balance sheet. The file has to be built instead around what has been irrevocably committed and cannot be recovered, and around whether an enterprise with a low entry cost can still generate more than a minimal living.
Committed is the test, not purchased
The requirement is capital irrevocably committed to a real operating enterprise and subject to partial or total loss. Buying equipment is the easiest way to demonstrate that, but it is not the only way. Non-refundable lease deposits, prepaid rent, the cost of leasehold improvements to a hangar, licence and certification costs, insurance premiums paid, initial chemical and supply inventory, aircraft positioning costs and any bond required by a regulator are all expenditures that cannot be recovered if the business fails. Assemble them into a schedule with invoices and bank records behind each line, and treat the schedule as the centrepiece of the file rather than an appendix.
Read the lease for its immigration content
A lease is commercial paper that also carries evidence. A multi-year hangar lease with personal guarantees shows a commitment that a monthly rolling arrangement does not. An equipment lease with a substantial non-refundable deposit and an early-termination penalty places real money at risk. Conversely, an arrangement the operator can walk away from with thirty days' notice and no penalty shows very little. Before signing, have the lease read for both purposes, because the term, the deposit, the guarantee and the termination provisions all affect what can be counted, and they are far easier to negotiate before signature than to explain afterwards.
Address marginality directly, since leasing lowers the entry cost
A leased-asset business has a lower total establishment cost, which helps the substantiality comparison but sharpens the marginality question: can this enterprise generate more than a minimal living for the operator and family, now or within a reasonable time? Answer it with specifics rather than optimism. Show signed or letter-of-intent customer agreements with acreage commitments, the seasonal capacity of the equipment, the hiring plan for loaders and ground crew with dates and wages, and projections built from those inputs rather than from a percentage growth assumption. The business plan is where this is won or lost.
What else is on your mind?
Is there one minimum investment that guarantees E-2 eligibility?Is holding money or owning an asset enough for E-2?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.