Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Separate the investor's own capital from borrowed capital
E-2 requires that the investor have placed funds or assets of their own at risk in the enterprise. Money the investor has borrowed can count when the investor is personally liable and the loan is secured by the investor's personal assets or unsecured; it does not count when the loan is secured by the assets of the enterprise being acquired. A seller note secured on the roofing company's equipment and receivables therefore falls outside the investment, and the siblings must show that the remaining two-thirds, paid from their own savings, a home-equity line or a personally guaranteed bank loan, is substantial in relation to the business.
Confirm the funds are committed and at risk
Funds sitting in the siblings' Canadian account, or a deposit refundable if they change their mind, are not yet invested. The commitment is shown by money paid to the seller, equipment purchased, a lease signed with personal liability, or funds held under conditions that release them on the sole condition of visa issuance. The purchase agreement, the closing statement, the wire confirmations and the LLC's bank statements should line up so that an officer can follow each dollar from source to enterprise. Before a payment is sent, list every release condition in the escrow or purchase documents. A condition tied only to issuance of the classification may be consistent with commitment; a condition allowing either buyer to withdraw for ordinary commercial reasons can leave the funds insufficiently committed. The first review should produce a source-and-path ledger, with a matching exhibit for each transfer, so that a large unexplained deposit does not obscure otherwise valid funds.
Establish nationality, ownership and control
Because the buyers are Canadian citizens and will own the LLC equally, the enterprise is at least fifty percent owned by treaty nationals. Each sibling must be able to show that they develop and direct the enterprise; with equal ownership, an operating agreement that gives each a defined authority over the business supports that, while an arrangement where the retiring seller keeps day-to-day control through a consulting agreement would undermine it. State roofing licences held by the seller should be addressed: if the licence must be held by an officer of the company, the plan for the siblings or a qualifying employee to obtain it belongs in the file.
Show a real, operating and non-marginal business
An established roofing contractor with crews, a fleet and a backlog of contracts is real and operating; the file should include the financial statements, payroll records and current contracts that prove it. Marginality asks whether the business will produce more than a minimal living for the investors, which an existing payroll of employees and a history of profit ordinarily answers. Canadian citizens apply for the E-2 visa at a US consulate, since the E classification is one for which Canadians require a visa; the visa can be issued for up to five years and E-2 status is renewable indefinitely, but it offers no direct route to permanent residence.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.