Review escrow with the purchase structure before finalizing commitments and the application timeline. The record must show actual funding and a qualifying commitment, while the business must also be sufficiently close to operation.
Use conditions as milestones
Track document execution, escrow receipt, outstanding consents, submission and the agreed release event separately. Ask transaction counsel to address what happens if processing outlasts contractual dates. The official guidance recognizes a particular visa-conditioned structure, but it does not guarantee a decision by the parties’ deadline.
Do not assume an escrow agreement alone makes the complete case ready to file. Use the conditions as milestones rather than fixing dates, since that is how the arrangement actually operates. Identify each condition, who must act to satisfy it, what evidence would show it satisfied, and what happens if it is not met by any longstop date the agreement contains.
Then sequence the transaction around those points. Arrange the escrow early enough that the commitment is genuine and documented, and late enough that the funds are not tied up while fundamental questions remain unresolved; where those pull in opposite directions, take advice on the specific facts. Ensure any longstop date allows realistic time for a process whose duration nobody controls, and negotiate an extension mechanism rather than relying on the parties' goodwill when the date approaches.