Fix the ownership structure before signing anything binding, then commit the funds in a way that is irrevocable but conditional on approval. Signing first and restructuring afterwards is the sequence that causes most trouble, because a completed share issue is difficult and costly to unwind.
The order of events decides how expensive a mistake becomes
Three dates matter and they are usually taken in the wrong order. The shareholding must be settled first, because the treaty-nationality threshold is absolute and the seller's expectations harden the moment a letter of intent is signed. Commitment of funds comes next, and it has to be genuine: capital held back in a personal account is not committed, while capital placed in escrow under instructions that release it into the business on approval, with no unconditional right of return to Yvon, generally is.
The application follows, on evidence of what has already been done rather than what is planned. Around that spine sit practical dependencies: the yard's seasonal cycle, since a haul-out business has a busy autumn and a quiet spring; the seller's own timetable; and the family's, since a child near twenty-one may lose derivative eligibility during a slow process. E-2 status can be renewed while the enterprise continues to qualify, so the plan should assume periodic re-examination rather than a single decision.
- USCIS: E-2 Treaty Investors
- U.S. Department of State: Treaty Trader and Treaty Investor visas
- Department of State: 9 FAM 402.9, Treaty trader and treaty investor guidance
- U.S. Department of State: Treaty countries
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.2, Special requirements for admission, extension and maintenance of status