No universal dollar threshold determines E-2 eligibility. Substantiality relates the size of the investment to the actual business being acquired or built, while nationality, genuine commitment, direction, and the enterprise's own requirements must also be satisfied.
Understand what the budget is actually meant to establish
Identify precisely what business is being purchased or created and which costs the current proposal actually includes. Flag any expense sitting outside a headline purchase price, and distinguish firm estimates from money already paid. Ask how the real commitment will be assessed rather than borrowing a figure from someone else's application — spending more money does not repair an unresolved nationality or operating-business problem.
Evaluate the enterprise instead of searching for a magic price. The investor must be a national of a qualifying treaty country; Canadian citizenship qualifies, while Canadian permanent residence without Canadian or another qualifying treaty-country nationality does not. At least 50 percent of the enterprise must be owned by nationals of the same treaty country. The investor must develop and direct the enterprise, ordinarily shown through at least 50 percent ownership or operational control through a managerial position or corporate device. Substantiality applies proportionality to actual business cost, with no fixed minimum; capital must be at risk and irrevocably committed. A startup may qualify before opening if the evidence shows it will become real and active. It cannot be marginal: it must have present or future capacity to produce more than a minimal living or make a significant economic contribution, with future capacity generally realizable within five years after normal business activity begins.
Hypothetical example: a Windsor bicycle mechanic plans a mobile repair enterprise with modest equipment costs. He documents Canadian citizenship, sole ownership, signed vehicle and tool purchases, working capital, service contracts, and credible hiring projections. Rather than increasing spending to imitate a restaurant case, he measures committed funds against this operation's genuine startup cost and explains how he will direct it. Counsel tests refund clauses and future capacity before assessing the proportional commitment and nonmarginal plan.