A clear, credible business plan is often the difference between approval and refusal for an E-2 visa. Consular and USCIS officers use it to test whether your investment is substantial under the proportionality test, whether the enterprise is real and operating, and whether it will be more than marginal within five years. 

A plan that ties investment spending to operations, revenue, hiring, and your day-to-day control speaks directly to those standards and strengthens your case.  The practical steps that prove these points and help officers verify facts quickly, follow.  If you’re serious about an E-2, have a reputable immigration firm review a business plan that satisfies the law.

The Legal Framework Your Plan Must Satisfy

An E-2 investor must come from a treaty country, invest in a real and operating U.S. enterprise, place capital at risk, and develop and direct the business; there is no fixed minimum dollar amount, and the enterprise must not be marginal (that is, it must have present or future capacity—within about five years—to generate more than a minimal living). Your plan is the tool that proves each element with data.

Three parts of the law make the plan indispensable:

1. Substantial investment via the proportionality test. Officers compare the amount you invested with the total cost to acquire or start the type of business you propose. Lower-cost startups usually require a higher percentage of the total cost to be invested; very high-cost ventures may qualify with a lower percentage because of the magnitude of funds. Your plan must show total project cost and where your dollars are already committed.

2. Real and operating enterprise. The plan must translate invoices, leases, vendor agreements, and service contracts into a coherent operating picture: what you bought, how the operation runs, and when revenue starts. Simply parking money in a bank account is not “at risk.”

3. More than marginal (five-year outlook). The plan should present conservative revenue, expense, and job-creation forecasts that show viability beyond supporting the owner’s living. Consular guidance ties this analysis to a five-year horizon.

Because there is no bright-line minimum investment, adjudicators rely on the quality of your business plan to understand whether your spending level is appropriate for your industry and model.

What a Strong E-2 Business Plan Includes

Use this checklist with your business immigration attorney, who will help structure your plan so officers can verify each legal element quickly and confidently.

1. Executive Summary with a Legal Lens. In one page, answer the legal questions: treaty nationality, ownership/control, total cost to launch, amount already committed, opening date, headcount plan, and five-year viability. This gives an officer a road map to the statutory elements before they read your financials.
2. Market and Operations Narrative. Describe the product/service, target customers, pricing, marketing channels, supply chain, and the calendar of pre-opening milestones. The goal is to show a functioning operation, not a concept. Embassy instructions in multiple posts also expect a structured, tabbed E-2 packet; your plan should mirror that logic.
3. Investment Detail and Source of Funds. Itemize sunk costs (build-out, equipment, franchise fee, initial inventory, software, professional services) and funds irrevocably committed (escrowed purchase price, lease obligations). The Foreign Affairs Manual recognizes escrow structures that release funds on visa issuance—your plan should reference this if used.
4. Proportionality Table. Present a clear table comparing (a) total project cost to (b) investor funds deployed/committed, with a resulting percentage. Tie these figures to receipts and contracts. Officers are explicitly instructed to apply this proportionality test.
5. Real and Operating Evidence. Include photographs of premises, supplier agreements, POS or SaaS subscriptions, payroll setup, and initial marketing buys. Consular guidance emphasizes that the business must be real and active, not speculative.
6. Hiring Plan and Org Chart. A succinct headcount plan (by role and timing) supports “more than marginal” viability and your develop and direct function (you as owner focus on management, not a lone job). Link hiring to revenue milestones to keep assumptions conservative.
7. Five-Year Financials that Match the Model. Provide integrated statements: startup budget, monthly cash-flow for Year 1, and annual P&L for Years 1–5, with break-even analysis and sensitivity ranges. The five-year window aligns with marginality analysis found in the FAM.
8. Risk and Compliance Notes. Briefly address licensing, insurance, and any state/local requirements that affect opening dates or costs. This reinforces credibility and the “real and operating” criterion.
9. Appendices. Purchase agreements, leases, bank letters, wire receipts, vendor quotes, and resumes of key personnel should be cross-referenced to the narrative so an officer can verify claims quickly. Embassy formatting rules often cap page count and require tabbing, so precision matters.

Common Reasons E-2 Cases Are Refused

Here are the pitfalls adjudicators cite most often—and the plan moves your business immigration attorney will use to cure each issue:

“Insufficient investment” on a low-cost startup. 

Without a proportionality analysis, a $90,000 startup may look underfunded. A plan that documents total cost to launch (say, $95,000) and shows $90,000 already deployed (95%) usually meets “substantial” for that profile; the same dollar figure could be insufficient for a high-cost venture. This is exactly why officers are taught to analyze proportion and risk, not a fixed threshold.

“Speculative or not yet operating.” 

If your plan relies on future steps without binding commitments (e.g., no lease, no supplier contracts), adjudicators may conclude the business is not “real and operating.” The plan should demonstrate committed spend and operational readiness.

“Marginal enterprise.” 

When projections show only owner income with no hiring or growth, the enterprise may be considered marginal. A plan tied to conservative market data and staged hiring (even part-time roles) helps show more-than-marginal capacity within five years.

“Role not managerial.” 

If your duties look like a technician’s job, you risk a mismatch with “develop and direct.” The plan should emphasize your managerial functions, delegation, and decision rights as the investor.

“Nationality or treaty gap.” 

Some applicants fail because their passport is not from a treaty country. Your plan and cover letter should confirm treaty eligibility at the outset and reference the official treaty-country list (which is updated periodically, e.g., Portugal added in 2024).

How Much Detail Is Enough?

Some U.S. embassies and consulates publish format expectations (for example, PDF, tabbed sections, and page caps) for E-visa submissions. While the legal standard is the same (9 FAM 402.9) the packaging can vary, and aligning your business plan with local instructions reduces processing friction.

Where possible, mirror the adjudicator’s checklist:

• Identify the enterprise, ownership, and treaty nationality on page one.

• Show total project cost vs. funds invested in a one-glance table (the proportionality test).

• Tie evidence to each claim with labeled appendices (lease, invoices, escrow, payroll setup).

These choices help the officer validate your immigration lawyers arguments quickly and reduce the risk of an RFE or 221(g) request.

Financial Projections That Withstand Scrutiny

Credible five-year projections do three things: (1) they trace revenue growth to a clear customer-acquisition plan, (2) they include fixed and variable costs grounded in quotes or contracts, and (3) they square with your staffing plan and opening schedule. The five-year lens is not arbitrary; it maps to the marginality inquiry in the FAM.

Aim for conservative assumptions and provide a brief sensitivity analysis. For example, if your baseline assumes 20 clients per month by Month 6, show the impact at 15 and 25 clients. Officers understand ranges; they look for coherence more than perfection. Align your break-even month with real capacity—lease start date, vendor lead times, and onboarding of your first hires.

Finally, avoid common modeling errors: double-counting start-up costs, ignoring ramp-up burn, or assuming immediate owner salary before the business can sustain it. Such issues can feed a “marginality” concern even if your capital outlay is substantial.

Documenting “Investment at Risk” the Right Way

The FAM frames investment as funds “at risk” of partial or total loss, aimed at generating return. Your plan should therefore link each major cost to a binding commitment: executed lease with deposit, equipment purchase agreements, inventory invoices, franchise or licensing fee receipts, build-out contracts, and marketing pre-buys. If you are acquiring an existing business, a visa-contingent escrow is recognized when structured correctly; describe it in the plan and attach the escrow agreement.

A clean source-of-funds narrative also belongs in the plan: bank statements, sale of assets, dividends, or gifts—with paths showing lawful origin and path to the business account. Tying the money trail to the spend schedule helps an adjudicator see immigration attorneys have addressed risk and legitimacy in full.

A Business Immigration Attorney Strengthens Your E-2 Filing

IBP Immigration Law helps you align your business plan with the Foreign Affairs Manual’s proportionality and marginality standards, ensuring your investment is credibly “at risk,” your enterprise is real and operating, and your five-year outlook is supported by conservative hiring and revenue models. Our top-rated business immigration attorney formats your packet to match post-specific instructions so adjudicators can verify the facts quickly. 

With IBP Immigration Law, you receive a cohesive strategy that supports the E-2 filing, banking, leasing, and insurance steps that follow approval. If you’re ready to proceed, contact us today.