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Borrowed money can be an E-2 investment when the loan is secured on the investor's own assets and the investor is personally liable, because the funds are then genuinely at risk. Money borrowed against the U.S. business's own assets is not at risk in the same way. A Quispamsis couple funding a U.S. childcare-centre purchase from a Canadian home-equity line should document the security, the personal guarantee and the flow of funds so that the risk is visible.
Show what secures the loan
Hypothetical example: a Quispamsis couple draws on a home-equity line secured on their New Brunswick house to buy a licensed U.S. childcare centre. Because the line is secured on their personal residence and they are personally liable, the drawn funds are their own capital at risk once committed to the purchase. The file should include the line-of-credit agreement showing the security, the mortgage registration, statements showing the draw and the wire to the escrow or seller, and a short reconciliation. A loan secured on the childcare centre's own equipment or receivables would not count, because the lender's recourse would be against the business rather than the investors.
Show the money cannot be recalled
Drawing the funds is not the same as committing them. The purchase agreement should be executed, the price deposited in an escrow releasable on visa issuance or paid outright, the premises lease assigned and any state childcare licensing transfer initiated. Working capital held in the business account should be tied to a budget for the first months of operation rather than sitting as an undesignated balance. The couple should avoid arrangements that let them retrieve the funds if the visa is refused other than through a properly structured escrow, because a reversible transaction is not an investment at risk.
Meet the operating and nationality tests together
The centre must be a real, operating enterprise that is not marginal. An established centre with licensed staff and enrolled children meets the operating test on its face; the marginality test is met by the payroll it supports beyond the couple. Ownership must be at least 50 percent Canadian, so the shares should be held by the couple directly rather than through a structure that introduces non-treaty owners. One spouse should be identified as the principal investor who develops and directs; the other is an E-2 spouse employment-authorized incident to status and may work in the centre. The couple should be reminded that E-2 status does not lead directly to permanent residence.
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.