IN THIS GUIDE · An electrician buying into a U.S. contracting business with an American partner
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
The enterprise must be at least half owned by treaty nationals, and Renata must direct it
E-2 classification is available to a national of a treaty country, which Canada is, who has invested in an enterprise that is itself at least 50 percent owned by nationals of that treaty country, and who will develop and direct the enterprise. A 40 percent stake with a U.S. citizen holding 60 percent fails the ownership test: the company would not be a Canadian enterprise for treaty purposes. Renata could satisfy both nationality and control through a 50-50 split that gives her negative control or through majority ownership. An operating agreement can help establish operational control, but it cannot make an enterprise with only 40 percent Canadian ownership satisfy the separate treaty-nationality requirement. Which structure works depends on the partner's willingness and on the state's business law, and the agreement should be drafted with the E-2 rule in view.
Ask the partner for the real numbers before deciding what is substantial
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. For a buy-in, that means Renata needs the company's actual valuation, its last three years of financial statements and its payroll, so that her contribution can be measured against the true cost of the stake she is buying. A partner who will only offer projections has not given her what a consular officer will want. The funds must also be irrevocably committed: a purchase agreement contingent on visa approval, with money in escrow to be released at approval, can meet that standard, whereas money sitting in Renata's Canadian account does not.
Personal capital, personally at risk, from a documented source
The capital must be Renata's own and subject to loss if the business fails. Savings and the proceeds of selling her Essa business equipment or her house are her own funds; a loan she personally guarantees and secures against her own assets can also count, whereas money borrowed against the U.S. company's assets cannot. Each dollar should have a paper trail from its origin to the escrow account or the company. A trade-licensing point sits alongside this: her Canadian electrical licence does not transfer, and the state where the company operates will have its own contractor licensing rules that the business, and possibly Renata personally, must satisfy. That is a business-planning matter, not an E-2 requirement, but a plan that ignores it is not credible.
Not marginal: the service division must employ people, not just pay Renata
An enterprise that would produce only enough income to support Renata and her family can be found marginal and refused. A commercial electrical contractor with an established crew is unlikely to be marginal, but the case should still show it: current employee headcount, payroll, the growth plan for the service division she will run and the hires that plan requires. The business plan should be the company's own numbers with Renata's division added, not a promotional document. E-2 has no direct path to permanent residence; if the partners eventually want that, they should ask an adviser about separate routes rather than assuming E-2 leads there.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.