Assess the actual financing and risk; the invoice total alone does not answer that question.
Identify what the investor has committed
Record the down payment, remaining obligation and collateral. Apply the E-2 treatment to the genuine arrangement instead of representing all equipment costs as an unencumbered cash investment.
Read the purchase and credit instruments line by line. Record the deposit, cash paid at closing, outstanding balance, collateral, guarantees, cancellation rights, and consequences if the visa is refused. Supplier credit secured only by business assets does not represent the investor’s personal capital at risk, and the invoice value should not be counted twice. E-2 requires treaty nationality for the applicant and qualifying enterprise ownership, an irrevocably committed and substantial investment exposed to loss, a real operating business that is not marginal, and authority to develop and direct through at least 50 percent ownership or operational control. The route does not lead directly to a green card.
Hypothetical example: a North Hatley cider-bottling entrepreneur buys a filling line for a proposed American service company, paying a deposit while the vendor finances the rest against the machine. She should trace the deposit from lawful funds, examine whether it can be withdrawn, and identify whose assets secure the note. The operating plan must price the whole venture and show activity beyond supporting her household. She may present only the commitment the agreements create, not equate the equipment’s sticker price with cash invested.