Use the effective agreement and actual funding history, with any material change explained.
Preserve the sequence
Do not backdate a later change or imply that an earlier repayment obligation never existed. Review the revised arrangement before relying on a previous investment assessment.
Preserve a dated sequence from the original family understanding through every amendment and transfer. Before filing, determine which agreement is currently enforceable, why it changed, whether consideration or repayment rights remain, and whether earlier funds were already committed. Never backdate the revision or overwrite bank descriptions. Then reassess treaty nationality, the lawful funding trail, capital irrevocably exposed to commercial loss, substantiality, operational control or at least 50% ownership, and whether the enterprise is genuine and non-marginal. Because E-2 has no direct green-card path, that long-term limitation belongs in the decision. The mistake is assuming a later gift declaration retroactively cleans the entire trail.
Hypothetical example: an Orford bakery-café purchaser first accepts a repayable family bridge loan, then her aunt forgives the balance before the acquisition closes. She should retain the original note, transfers, signed forgiveness, and account statements showing when her obligation ended. The purchase and escrow documents must reveal whether funds became irreversibly exposed only after that change. Her ownership and operating plan should be reviewed again rather than relying on an assessment made under the loan terms. A truthful chronology can explain evolution; a document claiming there was never a loan cannot.