It may qualify under the applicable rules, while enterprise-asset-secured borrowing does not count as the investor’s qualifying investment.
Read the actual financing
Identify security, borrower obligations and the transfer of funds. Do not decide treatment solely from the word “personal” in a summary. An E-2 review should produce a transaction map: treaty nationality, enterprise ownership, source of funds, method of transfer, current commitment, risk of loss, business plan, and investor control.
Assess each part separately before deciding whether the venture is ready. Hypothetical example: a Canadian national proposes to open a mobile bicycle-fitting business using money held in a revocable brokerage account and a signed van lease. The brokerage balance alone is not a completed business commitment.
The review should identify what has been paid, what can be recovered, what is secured by the business, and when the investor becomes exposed to loss. The enterprise must be real and operating, not merely an intention to invest later; the investment must be substantial in relation to this particular undertaking and the applicant must develop and direct it. Nonmarginality requires a credible capacity beyond the investor’s household support.
The first review ends with a choice: proceed with current documents, alter the transaction, or wait until the required commercial facts exist. The investor should also decide whether any projected manager would displace the investor from real direction of the enterprise. Ownership papers and a business plan must describe a role the investor will actually exercise.