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RIVERVIEW · E-2 FIELD GUIDE

Does paying an option premium establish the whole qualifying investment?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

The payment must be assessed under its actual terms. It does not automatically establish that the later exercise price has been committed or paid.

Explain what the premium purchases

Identify refund rights, risk and the relation to the operating enterprise. Keep government fees, professional costs and funds merely reserved for a future purchase separate.

Rent already paid, fit-out at both sites, equipment, and non-refundable deposits are business costs that may form part of the investment picture; refundable or escrowed amounts require fact-specific review before anyone treats them as at risk. A purchase price can carry goodwill payable later, a holdback released after a warranty period and an earn-out contingent on results nobody has produced yet, none of which is money placed at risk today. Beyond the immigration budget sits a commercial one that is easy to overlook: if the business must remain more than marginal, it may need investment to grow, and a relocation that costs customers may require capital to replace them. Ask your immigration reviewer for an itemized scope covering the eligibility assessment, the funds trace, dependent assistance, and responses to later requests, so no single price hides the work.