Most of the committed capital, by design, because the funds must be irrevocably committed and at risk before the application can succeed, plus professional costs for the business plan, corporate formation and legal review. Government charges apply through the consular application, or through the USCIS fee schedule if a change of status is filed inside the United States.
Accept the risk deliberately or choose another route
A binding purchase conditioned solely on E-2 visa issuance may keep assets in escrow for release once that condition is met, protecting the funds pending the decision while still demonstrating commitment. What can be managed is what the money buys. Spending on inventory and equipment leaves assets that can be sold if the plan fails; spending on non-refundable fees and leasehold improvements leaves nothing. Order the commitments accordingly, and negotiate lease commencement and delivery dates that give the application room. Add the professional costs, which are part of the start-up and are not themselves the investment. Confirm current government amounts at the time of application and check which procedure applies, since a consular application and a change of status filed from within the United States are separate paths with different charges and different consequences for travel.
Hypothetical example: an industrial rope-access training studio has a modest equipment budget but a costly leasehold build-out. A first review builds a line-by-line total cost and marks which payments are business capital, operating reserve, professional fees or personal expenses. Invoices, contracts and cleared payment records settle the proportion invested. There is no universal E-2 dollar minimum, but the amount must be substantial for this enterprise. Underfunding the build-out while counting relocation costs can make an apparently adequate budget misleading.