Where an accountant fits
We are accountants, not immigration lawyers. We do not advise on eligibility, prepare the petition, or represent you before a consulate. We build the financial evidence your attorney needs, in the form officers expect. If you do not yet have immigration counsel, engage one first.
In practice the financial file is where avoidable weaknesses appear: funds that cannot be traced cleanly, projections that assert rather than demonstrate, and figures in the business plan that do not agree with the accounts.
Source and path of funds
The investor must show the money is lawfully theirs and trace it, step by step, from its origin into the US business. An unexplained balance appearing in a US account is one of the most common reasons a file stalls.
A complete trail usually includes:
- Evidence of how the funds were earned — salary, business profits, a property sale, an inheritance, a documented gift
- Bank statements covering the whole path, not only the final transfer
- Wire confirmations linking each account to the next, with no unexplained gaps
- Tax returns from the home country supporting the stated income
- Sale contracts, valuations or probate documents where the funds came from an asset
- Loan agreements, where borrowing is involved and secured against the investor's own assets rather than the business
“Substantial” and “at risk”
There is no statutory minimum investment, which is why figures quoted online should be treated with suspicion. Substantiality is judged proportionally: against the total cost of buying or creating the enterprise. A small consultancy and a manufacturing operation face very different expectations.
The funds must also be irrevocably committed and at risk. Money sitting in a business bank account is generally not enough — it has been set aside, not put at risk. Signed leases, equipment purchases, inventory, staff costs and paid professional fees are what demonstrate commitment. Sequencing this correctly, before the application rather than after, matters a great deal.
The marginality requirement
The enterprise must not exist solely to provide a living for the investor and their family. This is where thin applications fail, and it is a financial argument as much as a narrative one.
It is normally met by showing a present or future capacity to generate more than minimal income, or to create jobs. Projections generally need to demonstrate that capacity within about five years, and they must be defensible: staffing plans with real salary assumptions, unit economics that hold up, and market assumptions you can point to a source for. Optimistic round numbers are noticed.
What we prepare
- A source-of-funds report with the full traced path and supporting exhibits
- Five-year financial projections — P&L, cash flow, headcount — with assumptions stated openly
- Historical financial statements, where the business is already trading
- The financial sections of the business plan, consistent with those statements
- A job-creation schedule with roles, timing and salary assumptions
- Evidence of funds committed and at risk, organised as exhibits
- Ongoing US bookkeeping and tax compliance once the business is operating
That last point matters more than it appears. E-2 status is renewed, and renewal looks at whether the business did what the original plan said. Clean books from day one make the second application far easier than the first.
Key facts at a glance
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to invest?
There is no statutory minimum. Substantiality is judged in proportion to what the business costs to buy or build, so any specific figure quoted as a universal threshold should be treated with suspicion.
Can the money sit in the business bank account?
Generally not. Funds must be irrevocably committed and at risk. Leases, equipment, inventory, staff and paid professional fees demonstrate that; an untouched balance usually does not.
Do you handle the visa application itself?
No. We are accountants. We prepare the financial evidence and work alongside your immigration attorney, who leads the petition and advises on eligibility.
What is marginality and why does it fail applications?
The business must do more than provide a living for you and your family. It is shown through capacity to generate more than minimal income or to create jobs, typically within about five years, and it needs defensible projections rather than optimistic ones.
Does this connect to my other US tax obligations?
Yes, and they are often overlooked. The entity will have its own filing requirements, and if it is foreign-owned that may include Form 5472. We look at the whole picture rather than the visa file alone.
Working with an immigration attorney already?
Tell us where the investment funds are coming from and what stage the business is at. We will scope the financial package your attorney needs and flag any gaps early, while they are still fixable.
We reply within one business day. Getting in touch is not a client engagement until we confirm it in writing.