Do not assume every transaction expense is qualifying investment. Identify what the payment does and apply the actual capital requirements.
Keep the financial categories visible
Separate funds committed to the enterprise from escrow services, immigration charges and personal reserves. Substantiality relates to the real business; there is no universal minimum sum that makes the distinction irrelevant. If borrowing supplies the deposit, examine its security: enterprise-asset collateral is excluded even when personal property also secures the loan.
Track investment capital and ongoing operating costs apart from government filing fees, legal fees, and family-related expenses, and confirm current official fees rather than relying on estimates from a different filing. Purchase price, working capital, lease deposits, equipment and a franchise or distributorship fee are the investment and are counted as such; consular processing or a change-of-status filing is an application cost, published in the official schedules, and is not part of the investment. The real budget covers valuation, accounting due diligence, American and Canadian legal drafting, a properly researched business plan, working capital for the first operating period, and the cost of restructuring terms that do not fit.