Separate the amount financed, the amount potentially qualifying as investment and the cost of servicing the debt. Interest, lending charges and repayment obligations also influence how much operating cash the enterprise needs.
Avoid counting the same money twice
Trace disbursements and investor contributions to the purchase or startup uses, while showing future debt payments in the forecast rather than adding them automatically to invested capital. Keep application charges, professional preparation and family travel in a separate immigration budget. There is no universal down payment that establishes E-2 eligibility; the qualifying commitment must be assessed against the actual enterprise and financing terms.
Avoid counting the same money twice, which is what happens when a financed purchase price is presented as the investment and the borrowed portion is not distinguished from the investor's own contribution. Build the figure from what the investor has actually put at risk, then show the financing separately with its terms. Add the costs the borrowing itself creates: arrangement and commitment fees, legal costs on both sides where the borrower pays the lender's, valuation, any insurance the lender requires, and the servicing cost across the term.
Model the servicing against the enterprise's own cash flow rather than against optimistic projections, since debt service is a fixed obligation in a business whose revenue is not. Immigration-related charges are separate and vary with the procedure and the number of family applicants.