Borrowed funds count if the loan is secured by your own personal assets, such as Canadian farmland or a home, and you remain personally liable. Funds borrowed against the assets of the U.S. business itself are not treated as your investment.
Personal security counts; business security does not
The at-risk requirement asks whether the investor stands to lose the money if the enterprise fails. A loan secured by the investor's own property meets that description because the lender can pursue the investor personally. A loan secured by the trucks and receivables of the business being purchased does not, because the risk falls on the business rather than the investor, and consular guidance excludes such indebtedness from the investment total. Seller financing follows the same logic: if the seller takes a security interest in the business assets, that portion is unlikely to count. Hypothetical example: each partner documents their share as a mix of cash from farm operations and, if needed, a personal line of credit secured on their Saskatchewan land. Government application fees are set out on the Department of State site and should be confirmed at the time of application.
Hypothetical example: a Canadian citizen buys a craft-bottling company and lists personal rent, a family vehicle and visa counsel's fee as part of the investment. The review should remove items that do not put the business at risk and focus on the acquisition price, production equipment, leasehold work, inventory, operating capital and commercial insurance actually committed to the enterprise. The signed contracts and bank confirmations settle the amount at risk. Prepare a separate personal budget so the business forecast is not inflated by household spending. There is no fixed dollar threshold; substantiality depends on the genuine cost of this particular enterprise.