There is no universal franchise-fee threshold for E-2. Assess the actual lawful capital committed at risk relative to the enterprise and its genuine business needs.
Read the complete financial commitment
Distinguish paid fees, equipment, premises, operating expenditure and amounts merely projected or available. Do not count every advertised future expense as already invested. Official processing charges and professional fees are separate from the commercial investment and should not be presented as purchasing eligibility.
Identify which costs are actually part of the investment analysis and which are unrelated preparation expenses, and review refund and cancellation terms rather than assuming every dollar spent helps eligibility. Build a list: accounting review of the financials, a lawyer for the asset or share purchase agreement, a business plan written to a standard an adjudicator will read rather than a bank, immigration counsel, and post-closing working capital. Where money sits in escrow or under a contract with revocation or refund conditions, the effect on committed, at-risk capital depends on the specific wording and needs legal review; refundable deposits are not automatically qualifying or automatically excluded. Substantiality is proportional to the total cost of purchasing or establishing this particular business, so a drainage installation company with trucks, trenchers and a crew is measured against its own acquisition cost rather than against any general figure.