Use separate totals for acquiring or establishing the enterprise, keeping it operating, and handling immigration and household costs. The amount a family needs to move is not automatically the amount that counts in the investment analysis.
Map the payment instead of relying on a single total
For each proposed payment, identify the recipient, purpose, funding source and whether the money can be returned. Include professional advice and commercial diligence in your planning without labelling those items qualifying capital by default. Ask which expenses need closer immigration assessment. This helps expose a gap between the advertised purchase price and the money needed after closing, without representing a particular budget as sufficient for approval.
Loan repayments, family covenants, escrow conditions, inventory, rent, payroll, and reserves should appear according to the real agreements even if someone informally used the word “gift.” There is no universal E-2 minimum; substantiality is assessed relative to the business. Substantiality is measured against the total cost of purchasing the business, and the investor's committed funds must be a large enough share of that cost to show serious commitment and a realistic chance of running it successfully.