Seasonality does not create a separate E-2 standard or automatically disqualify an enterprise. The case still needs substantial at-risk investment, real operations, investor direction and evidence that the business is more than marginal.
Assess the full cycle
Review annual capacity alongside monthly cash flow. Strong peak-season sales may coexist with high off-season obligations, while a new enterprise needs supported projections rather than established history. Explain the commercial activity and preparation across the year, including staffing where relevant.
A forecast should show why the enterprise can meet the applicable non-marginality standard rather than relying on a single favourable period. A seasonal business can support a case, and it has to be assessed across the full cycle rather than at its peak. Establish the annual picture: the months of trading, the months of preparation, the months of no revenue, and what the enterprise does and costs in each.
Then apply the requirements to that picture. The enterprise must be more than marginal, which means having the present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living for the investor and family, and that capacity is measured annually rather than in the strong months. The investor must also develop and direct the enterprise, which raises the question of what they do year-round.
Where the honest answer is that the business occupies four months and the investor is otherwise unoccupied, that is worth addressing rather than leaving to be inferred.