The purchase agreement is not work permission. Each person needs the appropriate actual immigration status and authorization for the activity.
Separate shared ownership from dependent work rules
A qualifying E spouse may work incident to valid status with appropriate evidence. Dependent eligibility may include an eligible spouse and unmarried children under 21, but children do not receive that spouse authorization. The principal’s transaction does not itself grant family admission or authorized dates.
Beyond the business file, keep the marriage certificate, the spouse's Canadian employment contract or resignation notice showing the expected end date, housing arrangements on both sides, and a travel record for the household. A spouse should not direct supplier employees, approve production, negotiate orders, or perform quality checks in the United States merely because the family owns the enterprise or an E-2 application is pending. The principal’s case separately requires treaty nationality for the investor and enterprise—Canadian citizenship, not permanent residence, where Canada supplies the nationality—at least 50% treaty-national ownership, and development and direction. Where the investor must supervise a build-out before status is settled, arrange for that supervision to be performed by someone already authorised to do it, so a family arrival does not create pressure to begin working early.