The signed purchase agreement, the deposit receipt, the escrow agreement conditioning release on visa issuance, bank statements showing the transfer into escrow, and the source records for every tranche. A bank balance or a letter of intent does not show commitment.
Escrow turns available money into invested money
Hypothetical example: the couple's first instinct is to show the consulate their savings account and the approved line of credit as proof they can afford the shop. Affordability is not the test; commitment is. The consulate needs to see that the funds have left the couple's control and are tied to the enterprise. A purchase agreement signed by both sides, a deposit already paid to the seller or escrow agent, and an escrow agreement under which the balance releases to the seller on E-2 visa issuance and returns to the couple only if the visa is refused, together establish irrevocable commitment while protecting the couple against losing everything if the application fails. Bank statements should show the money moving from the West Kelowna accounts into the escrow account in amounts that reconcile to the agreement. Source records complete the picture: the line-of-credit drawdown, savings history, and any sale of assets that produced the cash.
Hypothetical example: an investor purchases an industrial-laundry business and leaves the equipment deposit in a revocable personal account while waiting for the interview. The first review should trace the money from its lawful source to an executed contract, escrow instruction or paid obligation that places it beyond the investor's ordinary discretion. Wire confirmations, the escrow terms and the seller's receipt reconcile the amount; a business plan then shows why the operating enterprise is more than marginal. The funds must be irrevocably committed and subject to loss if the venture fails, not merely available for a possible purchase. A spreadsheet cannot cure a deposit arrangement that lets the investor simply reclaim the money on demand.