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BEAUMONT · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Does purchasing a digital-service licence establish an E-2 operating enterprise?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

Not by itself. Identify the business the applicant can actually develop and direct, its real operations and the other investment conditions.

Show the enterprise behind the product

A software licence may be one asset or contractual right rather than a complete business. Treaty nationality, qualifying enterprise ownership, lawful substantial at-risk investment and nonmarginality still need assessment. A high purchase price or functioning website does not establish all those requirements.

Nonmarginality concerns capacity beyond a minimal living for the investor and family or significant economic contribution; projected capacity should generally be realized within five years of normal business activity. Borrowed money is not excluded from E-2 investment analysis, so card-funded expenses may count when the investor is personally liable and the borrowing is not secured by the assets of the United States enterprise. Property the investor leases or that a supplier owns can support daily operations without its market value becoming qualifying capital, although lease or rent payments may be counted within the limits in the official guidance. An operating company with staff, premises and lawful unregulated revenue tells a different story from a shell awaiting approval, and the difference shows in records nobody has to characterize: bank statements, payroll runs, supply contracts, a signed lease.