Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: a plumbing-and-heating contractor from Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel is committing to a U.S. residential HVAC franchise. The franchisor's documents, the buyer's bank records and the state licensing board's answers supply almost all of the E-2 evidence. The file must show which payments are irrevocably at risk, that projected finances demonstrate capacity for more than a minimal living or a significant economic contribution, and that the business can lawfully perform a licensed trade from the day it opens.
Read the disclosure document as an investment schedule
The franchise disclosure document lists every required payment: the initial fee, training charges, the equipment package, software, signage, initial inventory and the working-capital estimate. Mark each item as refundable or not and as paid or not. Nonrefundable fees paid and equipment bought outright are committed capital; deposits that return on visa refusal and reserves in the buyer's account are not. The document's total investment estimate is also the yardstick for substantiality, since the amount invested is compared with the cost of establishing this business. Aim to have paid the full initial fee and bought the equipment before the interview. Keep the bank confirmation for every payment and the invoices they settle.
Build the marginality case from the territory
A new franchise cannot show past profits, so the projection must be credible on its own. Use the franchisor's territory data and any financial performance representation in the disclosure document, and build a five-year plan with realistic revenue, expenses, owner compensation and hiring. The enterprise must have present or future capacity to produce more than a minimal living for the investor's family or to make a significant economic contribution. Work performed by family members does not establish that capacity by itself, while credible non-family hiring may support it without being a separate legal requirement. Show the buyer's role in developing and directing the franchise: pricing within the franchisor's rules, hiring, marketing spend, service standards. Sole ownership by a Canadian citizen satisfies both treaty nationality and control.
Settle the licence and the sequence
Where the state licenses HVAC contractors, get the board's written answer on whether the buyer can sit the examination or whether a licensed employee will serve as qualifier, and put the chosen approach in the business plan with the qualifier's offer letter. A business that cannot lawfully perform its trade is not a real operating enterprise, and the officer will ask. Loans count only where the buyer is personally liable and the loan is not secured on the franchise's assets, so van financing secured on the van should be restructured. Apply through a U.S. consulate; Canadians cannot obtain E-2 at the port of entry. Negotiate the franchise agreement's opening deadline to allow for consular processing, and do not run service calls from the United States before the visa issues.
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.