IN THIS GUIDE · What goes wrong when a treaty investment looks like a passive real-estate purchase
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Tell the difference between an enterprise and an income property
A self-storage facility can be an active business: it markets units, manages tenants, maintains buildings, sells packing supplies and may add services. It can also be operated as a passive investment where the owners do nothing but receive distributions. E-2 requires a real, operating commercial enterprise and an investor who develops and directs it. The application should show the operational decisions the couple will make, the staff they will supervise and the improvements they plan, and one spouse should be identified as the principal investor with day-to-day authority.
Face the marginality question early
An enterprise that provides only enough income to support the investor's household is marginal unless it has, or will have within five years, the capacity to make a significant economic contribution, typically through employing U.S. workers. A facility with one part-time manager is close to that line. The business plan should show the current payroll, credible plans to add staff or expand services and projections that demonstrate more than a living for the couple. Relying on their Canadian pension income to argue the business need not support them does not answer the marginality test; it may reinforce it.
Commit the purchase funds and trace them
The proceeds of the duplex sale must be traced from the Canadian closing to the U.S. purchase, and the purchase funds must be irrevocably committed, whether paid at closing or held in escrow releasable only on visa issuance. Any loan should be secured on the couple's personal assets rather than on the facility, so the risk remains theirs. Funds set aside for improvements should be tied to a written plan rather than held as an undesignated reserve.
Settle the ownership and the family's expectations
The enterprise must be at least 50 percent owned by Canadian nationals, which joint ownership by the couple satisfies. The E-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status and may work in the facility or elsewhere. Adult children are not derivatives. The couple should be told clearly that E-2 provides no direct path to permanent residence, that renewals depend on the enterprise continuing to qualify and that spending only winters at the facility may itself raise questions about whether they are developing and directing it.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.