IN THIS GUIDE · Premises commitments and business readiness
Start with the E-2 eligibility and application overview
Explain why the space fits
Connect the premises to the enterprise’s actual work, capacity and customer needs. Some businesses require specialized facilities; others have different arrangements. The relevant question is whether the enterprise can operate as described. A lease with an impressive address does not answer whether the space is usable for the proposed activity.
Distinguish liability from payment
A multi-year rental obligation is not automatically an invested amount equal to all future rent. State Department guidance distinguishes rent actually devoted or prepaid from future periodic payments. Keep paid deposits, prepaid rent, ordinary rent and planned fitout separate, and review their treatment rather than counting the lease’s full face value.
Track conditions and permissions
Identify landlord consent, permitted use, public approvals and unfinished buildout where relevant. Record what is complete and what still depends on another party. A signed lease can coexist with an enterprise that is not yet close to operating. Support the launch plan with factual milestones rather than assuming access to space means readiness.
Budget the period before opening
Premises costs can begin before sales and before the investor can work in the United States. Explain who is responsible for fitout and how continuing obligations are funded. Update the financial forecast when delays change the opening date. Immigration eligibility and the commercial wisdom of accepting lease risk are separate assessments.
Identify who holds each obligation in the lease
A premises file usually involves at least three parties and one of them is often overlooked. The landlord owns the building. The tenant entity signs and pays. A guarantor may stand behind the rent, and where that guarantor is the investor personally or a foreign parent, the fact changes how the payments should be described. Hypothetical example: a packaging automation venture leases a unit with a reinforced floor and a crane bay, with fit-out split so that the landlord provides power capacity while the tenant installs the conveyor mounts. Write both obligations down. If the landlord’s work slips, the enterprise cannot open, and the reason will not be visible in the tenant’s own records. Attach the investment analysis to the entity that must satisfy it. E-2 capital must be substantial, irrevocably committed and at risk in a real and operating enterprise that is not marginal. A payment made by some other party needs an explanation.
Distinguish operating readiness from occupancy
Occupancy is a date on a lease. Readiness is a condition of the business, and the two are commonly reported as though they were one. List what must be true before the first order can be fulfilled: power and compressed air installed, machinery delivered and commissioned, any required approvals in place, staff engaged, and someone lawfully able to direct the work. Assign an owner to each item and a source for its status. The contractor reports on fit-out. The equipment supplier reports on delivery. Neither reports on whether the investor may begin work in the United States, and that item belongs on the same list instead of being left implicit. The investor must develop and direct the enterprise. A landlord, a project manager or a hired operator running the business while the investor waits is a different arrangement, and it should be described accurately rather than smoothed over.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.