IN THIS GUIDE · Control under a franchise agreement and marginality in a small clinic purchase
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Read the franchise agreement for who controls the business
A franchisee ordinarily owns the location, hires the staff, sets the hours within the franchisor's standards and takes the profit or loss. That is usually sufficient for developing and directing the enterprise, even though the franchisor controls the brand. The agreement should be reviewed for clauses that go further: franchisor approval of every hire, franchisor control of bank accounts or a management-services clause under which the franchisor runs the clinic. Those provisions can undermine the claim that the investor directs the business.
Show the funds are committed before the application
At-risk funds are those already spent or irrevocably committed, such as a purchase price held in escrow releasable only on visa issuance, signed equipment purchases and a lease assignment personally guaranteed. A refundable deposit or a letter of intent does not commit funds. The trail should run from the sale of the Canadian practice, through her personal account, to the purchase. Loans secured on the business assets themselves are not at risk; loans secured on her personal assets can be.
Address marginality with a staffing plan
An enterprise that provides only a living for the investor and her family is marginal. A clinic that employs two other therapists and a receptionist, or whose projections show it will within five years, is not. The business plan should show current payroll, planned hiring and revenue capacity beyond the investor's own billable hours. The plan should also confirm that she will hold the state licence needed to practise, because without it the enterprise may not be able to operate as planned.
Record the treaty-nationality and family facts
The enterprise must be at least 50 percent owned by Canadian nationals. Sole ownership by the applicant satisfies this. An E-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status and may work in the clinic or elsewhere. Children under 21 may accompany. E-2 gives no direct path to permanent residence, so any long-term intention should be discussed separately.
Test substantiality and marginality against this business
The investment must be substantial in relation to the total cost of purchasing or establishing the enterprise, judged proportionally rather than against a fixed figure. Substantiality is proportional rather than absolute: the committed capital is weighed against the total cost of buying an established enterprise of this kind, so a low-cost business demands a high proportion and there is no threshold to point at. The nonmarginality inquiry addresses more than minimal living for the investor and family or significant economic contribution under the applicable framework; unsupported seller estimates should not be converted into an affirmative conclusion. The file should show non-marginality through present income, a credible five-year forecast, or evidence of a significant economic contribution; staffing can support that showing but is not an independent minimum. For a service franchise that means vehicles on the road, technicians hired or committed, licences obtained and customers being served.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.