Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: Perpetua distils gin and cask-aged spirits in Victoria County and intends to build a small distillery and tasting room in an American town rather than buy an existing one. She has capital, a signed lease and quotations for a still, tanks and a bottling line. What she does not yet have is a clear account of how much of that capital is committed, and because substantiality is a ratio rather than a threshold, the denominator has to be established before the numerator means anything.
There is no minimum, which is exactly why the denominator matters
Substantiality is assessed in proportion to the total cost of establishing an enterprise of the kind proposed, so the first question is what building a small distillery and tasting room genuinely costs from nothing: still and fermentation vessels, a bottling line, fit-out of the production and hospitality areas, licensing, opening raw materials, and the working capital needed until the first casks can be sold. That total is the denominator. Her committed capital is the numerator, and the closer those two figures sit to one another the stronger the case becomes. A number quoted without the total it is measured against tells an adjudicator nothing.
In a build, committed is not the same as available
Money in an account is not invested however firmly it has been earmarked. What converts capital into a qualifying investment is irrevocable commitment with the funds genuinely at risk: a signed lease with rent paid, equipment ordered under contracts carrying non-refundable deposits, contractors engaged, licences applied for and paid, materials purchased. Every one of those produces a document, and together they answer the question far better than a bank statement ever will. Borrowing secured against the American enterprise's own assets is excluded from the counted amount, whereas a loan secured against her Victoria County property or business is her own money at risk and is not excluded.
Marginality, direction, and the place this route stops
An enterprise generating only enough to support the investor and her household may be found marginal, so the plan has to describe a business employing other people, with roles, hiring dates and supporting revenue tied to evidence outside the document itself. Perpetua must also develop and direct the enterprise, ordinarily through majority ownership or operational control, which her own plan undermines if it shows her spending every day at the still. Two limits belong in any decision of this kind. The enterprise has to be real and operating rather than idle when the application is made, and this category leads to no permanent residence of its own.
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.