IN THIS GUIDE · Structure the purchase of a U.S. plumbing company so the buyer clearly controls it and the money is clearly at risk
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Own at least half and actually direct it
The investor must develop and direct the enterprise, ordinarily by owning at least fifty percent or by holding operational control through a managerial position or other corporate device. The buyer's eighty percent stake meets the ownership threshold, and the company remains a qualifying enterprise because it is majority-owned by a Canadian national. The shareholder agreement and the seller's consulting contract must be consistent with that: the buyer hires and fires, sets prices, signs contracts and controls the bank account. A consulting role that reserves customer relationships and operational decisions to the seller reads as the seller still directing the business. Write the consulting agreement as advice, not authority.
Decide what counts as the investment
Funds are at risk when they are the investor's own or borrowed on the investor's personal security, and are committed to the business so that loss is possible. Cash paid to the seller at closing for the shares counts. A seller-financed note secured by the business's own assets is generally not counted as investment because the enterprise, not the investor, bears the risk; a note personally guaranteed and secured by the buyer's Canadian house is a different picture. The deal can still close with seller financing, but the petition should be built on the portion that genuinely qualifies, and the proportion of price paid at closing should be planned with that in mind.
Show substantiality and a non-marginal business
Substantiality is proportional: the investment is compared with the cost of purchasing or establishing the business. Buying an existing company at a fair price with most of the price paid from qualifying funds typically satisfies it. Marginality asks whether the business does more than support the investor's family; an established company with employed plumbers, apprentices and an office clerk already does. Provide two or three years of the target's financial statements, payroll records, the state contractor licence and the customer base. An asset that only pays the buyer's own wage would not pass.
Sequence the closing with the consular application
A Canadian citizen applies for the E-2 visa at a U.S. consulate; unlike TN, there is a visa interview and a written application about the enterprise. Because funds must be committed before the visa is issued, buyers commonly use escrow that releases on visa approval or a purchase agreement conditional on it, so that commitment is real but not lost if the visa is refused. The plumbing trade adds a step: the buyer's ability to hold or operate under the state's master plumber licence should be resolved with the seller before closing. Spouses of E-2 investors are employment-authorized incident to status; E-2 is renewable but is not a path to permanent residence by itself.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.