E-2 Evidence Planning
E-2 Business Plan Requirements and Evidence
How an E-2 business plan should support operational readiness, substantiality, marginality, hiring, financial projections, investor control, and the actual documentary record.
Direct answer
What the governing framework requires
E-2 law does not make a business plan a substitute for objective evidence, but a well supported plan can be central in a new or developing enterprise. The current FAM suggested document checklist specifically identifies five year financial projections supported by a thorough business plan as relevant marginality evidence. The plan should explain the actual business rather than present generic projections disconnected from the investment and operations.
01 · Purpose
The business plan should organize the immigration theory of the enterprise
A business plan can help explain how the enterprise will operate, how much it costs, why the investment is substantial, how revenue will be generated, what employees will be needed, and how the investor will develop and direct the company.
It is especially important when the enterprise does not yet have a lengthy historical operating record.
02 · Five Year Projection
The FAM specifically connects a thorough business plan to marginality
The current FAM suggested evidence checklist identifies financial projections for the next five years supported by a thorough business plan.
This aligns with the marginality rule, which states that future economic capacity should generally be realizable within five years after normal business activity begins.
03 · Financial Model
Projections should be traceable to assumptions
Revenue should connect to units, customers, pricing, capacity, or contracts.
Payroll should connect to the actual staffing plan. Rent should match the lease. Franchise royalties should match the franchise agreement. Equipment expense should align with the investment record.
The plan should not use attractive figures that cannot be reconciled with the underlying transaction.
04 · Capital
The plan should reconcile with the investment schedule
The startup or acquisition budget should match the amounts described in the legal filing and supporting evidence.
Capital already spent, funds irrevocably committed, remaining operating capital, financing, and nonqualifying amounts should be distinguishable.
05 · Organization
The hiring plan should reflect the actual business model
A generic promise to hire workers has little value if the positions do not fit the projected revenue and operations.
The plan should identify when employees are needed, what functions they perform, and how payroll fits the financial projections.
This can support both marginality and the credibility of the investor's directing role.
06 · Record Integrity
The business plan must agree with the rest of the filing
- Ownership should match corporate records
- Investment should match bank and payment evidence
- Purchase price should match transaction documents
- Rent should match the lease
- Employees should match the organizational plan
- Revenue should match stated pricing and capacity
- Investor duties should match the develop and direct theory
A polished plan cannot repair contradictions in the underlying evidence.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked questions
Is a business plan required for every E-2 visa?
The exact evidence depends on the case, but a detailed business plan is commonly important for a new or developing enterprise, especially for marginality and projections.
How many years should an E-2 business plan project?
The current FAM suggested evidence list identifies projections for the next five years.
Can the business plan prove marginality by itself?
A plan can be important evidence, but projections are stronger when supported by objective investment, market, operating, customer, and staffing evidence.
Should the business plan include hiring?
Where hiring is part of the business model, the plan should show realistic timing, positions, compensation, and connection to operations.
Should investment expenditures appear in the plan?
Yes. The startup or acquisition budget should reconcile with the actual investment evidence.
Can a template business plan hurt an E-2 case?
A generic plan can create problems when its assumptions, staffing, ownership, expenses, or projections do not match the actual enterprise.
Case-specific review
Build a business plan that matches the E-2 record
A review can test whether projections, staffing, investment, operating assumptions, and investor duties are credible and internally consistent.
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