The best business to buy for an E-2 visa, priced from 370+ listings marketed to E-2 investors

The short answer

This page uses the Main Street Index, BigIdeasDB’s census of 84,900+ businesses-for-sale listings from 29 marketplace sources. We pulled every de-duplicated US listing whose description markets it to E-2 treaty investors: 370+ in total, 360+ with a price and 200+ with both a price and stated owner earnings. Owner earnings, or SDE, is profit plus the owner’s own pay. It is the number you live on and the number a consular officer reads when deciding whether the business is more than marginal.

Every figure is an asking price or a stated earnings figure from a listing, never a sale price. The comparison group is the 27,200+ US listings without the E-2 label that state both numbers. Legal points below come from USCIS, the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual and the SBA, fetched live and linked where used.

“I have spent hours on bizbuysell, biz quest, loop-net etc but still haven’t found anything.”r/e2visa

What an E-2 business for sale really costs

The middle half of E-2-marketed listings that state earnings ask between $152.5K and $500K, with a median of $267.5K on $513.7K of revenue (Main Street Index, 200+ listings, October 2026). That is 32% below the $395K median ask of US listings without the label, because the businesses are smaller: $122.5K of SDE against $168.4K.

The $225K median across every priced E-2 listing is lower for a reason worth knowing. 160+ priced E-2 listings state no earnings at all, and many of them are franchise packages at one flat price. We cover those below. For a buyer, the 200+ listings with both numbers are the realistic market, which is why we lead with $267.5K.

Three things follow from the 2.34x multiple. First, the business pays back its price in owner earnings in a little over two years before you pay yourself. Second, it is smaller than the market multiple of 2.63x mainly because these are smaller businesses, and smaller businesses ask lower multiples everywhere, as our guide to valuing a small business shows. Third, the median E-2 buyer is not buying a cheap visa vehicle. They are buying a $250K to $300K operating business, the same size band our businesses by budget guide covers.

Is $100K enough for an E-2 visa business?

For a business you buy, rarely: 13.9% of E-2-marketed listings that state earnings ask $100K or less and 25.2% ask $150K or less (Main Street Index, 200+ listings, October 2026). The “around $100K” figure that law-firm pages and Google’s AI answer repeat is a rule of thumb for the investment, not a price you will find on most listings.

The law does not set a number. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual, 9 FAM 402.9 says “no set dollar figure constitutes a minimum amount of investment” and judges it with a proportionality test. For a business that costs $100K, investing 100% of the cost “would normally qualify.” Practitioners in the E-2 forum agree that small cases work, with a big caveat about where you apply:

“I’ve done loads of sub $100k cases and plenty of sub $50k cases. By contrast, apply somewhere like Pakistan and your investment better be north of $500k.”r/e2visa, a practitioner

The real problem with the cheap end is not the visa officer’s dollar test. It is what the cheap businesses earn. Split the 200+ E-2 listings by asking price and the bottom band looks very different from the rest:

The sub-$150K band asks only 1.39x, which looks like a bargain until you read the earnings: a median $67.5K, with 41.2% under $60K and a median of 3.5 employees. That is close to the definition of a marginal enterprise, which we come to below. One E-2 investor who did it on a small budget put it this way:

“My total investment was a little over $51,000 ... smaller investments tend to be harder (but not impossible).”r/e2visa, an E-2 holder seven years in

The next band up is where most buyers land. At a median $245K you get $101.4K of SDE and five employees, and only 7.4% of listings state under $60K. If your budget is near $100K, the honest options are a smaller business you can prove will grow, a partner, or starting one, which our cost to start a business guide prices out.

“The first lawyer I spoke to told me nothing under 200K would work. If I stopped at him I wouldn’t be here.”r/e2visa

E-2 businesses for sale in Florida

74.3% of E-2-marketed listings that state earnings are in Florida (150+ of 200+), and 59.6% of all 370+ E-2 listings, against 14.0% of comparable US listings without the label (Main Street Index, October 2026). Texas (20 listings), Ohio (14) and California (19 including a regional tag) follow far behind. No other state reaches 30, so we publish Florida medians only.

Why Florida? Partly demand: one immigration adviser in the E-2 forum said most of their clients set up there. The rest is supply. The label is a marketing choice by sellers and brokers, and it is concentrated: 101 brokers use it, and the five heaviest users hold 41.7% of all E-2-marketed listings, including the multi-state packages covered below. Florida also has the most listings per resident of any state, 27.1 per 100K against 14.2 nationally, as our best state to buy a business study shows.

“Majority of our E2 clients establish their business in FL.”r/e2visa, an immigration adviser

The practical consequence: if you search only for “E-2” you are mostly searching Florida brokers’ inventory. A business in Texas or Ohio can qualify just as well without the word in its description. Outside Florida, the E-2-marketed listings are larger ($143.2K of SDE) and only 5.8% ask $100K or less. Our guide to finding a business to buy covers searching by industry and owner earnings instead of by label.

“It’s taken us nearly a year to find one, two failed attempts on the way, lots of zoom meetings with potential businesses and hundreds of hours researching.”r/e2visa

What kind of business is marketed for an E-2 visa

Food service is 35.6% of E-2-marketed listings with earnings, against 24.9% of comparable US listings, and personal care is 12.4% against 5.6% (Main Street Index, 200+ and 27,200+ listings, October 2026). Trades and home services (9.9% vs 15.7%), automotive (4.0% vs 9.0%) and health (1.0% vs 5.9%) are under-represented. Sellers pitch E-2 where the business is staffed, visible and inventory-heavy.

By industry, across all 370+ E-2 listings: restaurants (44), school and tutoring offers (23), sports and recreation offers (18), laundries (16), fast food (16), pizzerias (14), hair salons (13) and fuel stations (11). No single industry reaches 30 listings with earnings, so we do not publish per-industry E-2 medians. For those, use our full industry guides, built on far larger samples: restaurants, coffee shops, salons, laundromats and gas stations.

The mix matches what immigration attorneys tell buyers. One in the E-2 forum explained why:

“Easier E-2 businesses from an immigration standpoint tend to be work and inventory-intensive with prospective hiring. Therefore restaurants, franchises, stores, etc. tend to be better E-2s.”r/e2visa, an attorney

The data backs the “inventory-intensive” part: 46.5% of E-2-marketed listings include inventory in the price, against 27.0% of other US listings. Food service also prices like food service everywhere: 2.50x on E-2 listings against 2.46x without the label (70+ and 6,700+ listings). Our restaurant guide found 8.9% of restaurants report zero or negative earnings, so a food-heavy shortlist needs the rent and earnings checks in that guide before anything else.

Does the E-2 label change the price?

Barely. Matched to its own industry, the median E-2-marketed listing asks 0.94x the multiple of same-industry US listings without the label, and 55.0% sit below their industry median (Main Street Index, 200 listings in industries with 30+ comparables, October 2026). Matched to Florida listings of the same industry, the ratio is 0.93x and 58.3% sit below (110+ listings).

So the raw gap (2.34x vs 2.63x) is mostly mix: smaller businesses, more food, more Florida. The label is not a premium you pay for visa convenience, and it is not a large discount either. Two sector cuts with enough data show the range. E-2 retail asks 2.33x against 2.62x for other retail (30+ listings), while E-2 food asks about the same as other food.

One place the gap is wide: listings that call themselves absentee. E-2-marketed absentee listings ask 2.26x (30+ listings) against 2.94x for absentee listings without the label (1,600+). Part of that is size. Part is that many cheap “absentee” E-2 listings are packages, which the next section covers. Check every listing against its industry on the Main Street Index industry pages before you treat a low multiple as a deal.

Look-alike E-2 packages: one listing in five

75 of the 370+ E-2-marketed listings (20%) are templated: the same description posted three or more times across two or more states, at a median ask of $168K and with no stated owner earnings on any of them (Main Street Index, October 2026). They make up 49 of the 170+ E-2 listings asking $200K or less, which is why the cheap end of an “E-2” search looks fuller than it is.

The largest cluster is one franchise pitch that appears 37 times, in 17 states, at exactly $168K under two industry tags (tutoring and recreation). Another is a “semi-absentee ownership” package posted 15 times. These are new territories or turnkey packages, not existing businesses with a track record. They can still work for an E-2, but you are buying a startup, and the consular officer will read your business plan, not a tax return.

“How can the E2 Visa be approved when there are no revenues as yet.? Does this mean that the visa is considered based on business plan and future cash flow?”r/e2visa, on buying a new franchise territory

The screen is easy to run yourself. If a listing states no SDE, search a sentence from its description. If the same text shows up in other states, it is a package. Our mistakes when buying a business guide lists the other warning signs, and the guide to analysing a listing with AI has a prompt for this check.

The packages are also why the “hands-off E-2” pitch is so common. 152 of the 370+ E-2 listings (40.6%) pair the E-2 wording with “absentee” or “semi-absentee” wording. That combination is a contradiction worth thinking about, because of what the rules ask of the investor.

What the E-2 rules require of the business

USCIS sets four tests for a treaty investor: treaty nationality, a substantial investment, a real operating enterprise that is not marginal, and a role developing and directing it, normally shown by at least 50% ownership (USCIS, E-2 Treaty Investors, page updated August 2026). This section is a plain summary of official sources, not legal advice; your immigration attorney decides how they apply to your case.

• Treaty nationality. The investor must be a national of a treaty country. The Foreign Affairs Manual table (9 FAM 402.9-10, updated February 17, 2026) has about 80 E-2 entries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany, Japan, Israel, Turkey, Pakistan, the Philippines, Jamaica and Grenada. India, Brazil, Russia and mainland China are not on it.
• Substantial investment. Substantial “in relationship to the total cost of either purchasing an established enterprise or establishing a new one.” USCIS adds: “The lower the cost of the enterprise, the higher, proportionately, the investment must be.” For an existing business, the FAM says the cost “is generally its purchase price.”
• A bona fide enterprise. “A real, active, and operating commercial or entrepreneurial undertaking which produces services or goods for profit.” A property you rent out is not one, which is why a passive real estate purchase does not work for E-2.
• Not marginal. It must have “the present or future capacity to generate more than enough income to provide a minimal living” for the investor and family. A new enterprise gets five years to show that capacity.
• Develop and direct. The investor must be “seeking to enter the United States solely to develop and direct the investment enterprise.”

Buying an existing business makes the second, third and fourth tests easier to evidence: a purchase price, tax returns and payroll are documents an officer can read. That is the main argument for buying over starting, and it is why one E-2 holder in the forum wrote that, given another go, they would buy:

“If I could do it again, I would seriously consider buying an existing business or a franchise.”r/e2visa, an E-2 holder seven years in

Where you file matters as much as what you buy. Forum practitioners consistently say a change of status filed with USCIS from inside the US is more predictable than some consulates:

“If you file a change of status with USCIS then your odds go way up on a lower investment as USCIS is far more reasonable.”r/e2visa, a practitioner

Develop and direct vs absentee listings

Of E-2-marketed listings that state the owner’s role, 62.6% are absentee or semi-absentee and 33.3% owner-operated, against 36.6% hands-off and 53.4% owner-operated across US listings that state a role (Main Street Index, 170+ and 15,000+ listings, October 2026). Hands-off here means absentee plus semi-absentee; manager-run listings (4.1% of E-2, 10.1% of all) are counted in neither group. Our headline owner-operated figure for all US-dollar listings is 53.1%, on a slightly wider population.

Sellers lean on “semi-absentee” because it sells to investors. For an E-2 buyer it cuts both ways. Staff and a manager help with the marginality test and free you to run the business as its director. But USCIS wants an investor who comes to the US “solely to develop and direct” the enterprise. A business described as needing no owner at all invites the question of what you will do there.

The useful middle is a business with staff where you hold the general-manager seat: hiring, purchasing, pricing, the books. Write that role down. One attorney in a Florida thread described what officers look for in a service business:

“You must show you’re building a business, not just creating a job for yourself.”r/e2visa, an attorney

Our easiest small businesses to run study measures owner hours by industry if you want staffed businesses with a real management role rather than a fully passive one.

Will the business pass the marginality test?

The data cannot decide marginality, but it can flag risk: 35.1% of E-2-marketed listings with earnings state under $100K of SDE, against 26.8% of other US listings, and in the sub-$150K price band 41.2% state under $60K (Main Street Index, 200+ listings, October 2026). The good news is staffing. The median E-2 listing that states a headcount has five employees, the same as the wider market.

The Foreign Affairs Manual adds a second route: a business that cannot yet pay more than a minimal living is still not marginal if it has “a present or future capacity to make a significant economic contribution.” In practice that means jobs. Only 1 of the 200+ E-2 listings combines under $50K of SDE with one or no employees, so the truly solo, thin business is rare in this set; our business ideas with no employees study shows what one-person businesses earn across the wider market. The risk sits in the $50K to $75K SDE range with three or four staff.

A forum practitioner made the distinction buyers most often blur:

“Substantial investment and marginality are two different issues.”r/e2visa, a practitioner

The same reply went on: a $75K business bought at fair market value can be a substantial investment, and if its finances are weak, a five-year growth plan is how you answer the marginality question.

And an E-2 holder put the same point from the other side:

“Cash flow matters more than the investment amount.”r/e2visa, an E-2 holder seven years in

Test the earnings, not the description. Our due diligence checklist shows how to rebuild SDE from tax returns and bank statements. It found 19.5% of listings claim an owner margin 1.5x their industry’s, so stated SDE is a starting point, not evidence.

No SBA loan: what an E-2 buyer pays in cash

Since March 1, 2026, SBA 7(a) and 504 loans require “100% of all direct and/or indirect owners” of the borrower to be US citizens or US nationals (SBA Policy Notice 5000-876441, published February 2, 2026). Green card holders are excluded too. An E-2 investor is a nonimmigrant, so the standard first-time-buyer playbook of 10% down and an SBA loan for the rest is closed.

The forum caught this as it happened:

“Once you own the business, I don’t think you will be able to get funding through SBA. A significant change is going into place March 1st, 2026 that will make it such that only citizens can get funding.”r/e2visa, February 2026

Yet 25 of the 370+ E-2-marketed listings (6.7%) still advertise SBA eligibility or prequalification. That line is for a different buyer. For you, the price is close to the cash you need, plus working capital, legal fees and the visa costs. The usual loan test (debt service coverage) does not apply when there is no loan, so we use the all-cash return instead:

On paper an all-cash E-2 purchase returns 42.8% of the price a year in owner earnings, or 21.7% after you pay yourself $60K. Two in three listings clear 15% after that salary. The lower multiple helps the gross number; the smaller size cancels it out after salary. The catch is concentration: all of your capital sits in one small business, with no lender doing a second review of the books. Our down payment guide shows what a citizen buyer puts in for comparison, and our hidden costs guide covers the inventory and working capital that sit on top of the price. Those matter more here, because 46.5% of E-2 listings sell inventory as part of the deal.

Paying for the search help does not count either. A buyer weighing an acquisition service noted the drawback:

“It’s quite expensive, and the cost doesn’t count toward the E2 investment requirement.”r/e2visa

Seller financing and what counts as at-risk money

20.9% of E-2-marketed listings offer seller financing (78 of 370+), about the same as the 20.4% of all US listings (Main Street Index, October 2026). But a seller note is not the same as cash for an E-2 case. The Foreign Affairs Manual says “commercial loans secured by the assets of the enterprise cannot count toward the investment,” because the investor’s own money is not at risk (9 FAM 402.9-6).

What can count, per the same section: savings, gifts, inheritance and “indebtedness collateralized by the applicant’s own personal assets, such as a second mortgage on a home or unsecured loan.” A typical seller note is secured by the business you are buying. So if a $300K business comes with a $90K note, your at-risk investment may be judged as $210K against a $300K cost, which is 70%. Whether that is substantial depends on the proportionality test and on the officer. Ask your attorney before you agree to the structure; our seller financing guide covers the note terms themselves.

One more FAM point is useful at the letter-of-intent stage. A purchase “conditioned upon the issuance of the E-2 visa may still qualify as an irrevocable investment” if the funds sit in escrow for release once the visa is issued. That is the clause that protects you if the visa is refused. A practitioner in the forum made the same point:

“Escrow accounts are grossly under used for E2.”r/e2visa, a practitioner

Put the visa condition and the escrow in your letter of intent, and use our negotiation guide for the price itself: 13.4% of E-2-marketed listings already show a price cut, against 11.6% of other listings.

Franchise resale or independent business for an E-2 visa?

Franchise resales are 15.8% of E-2-marketed listings with earnings, against 9.2% of other US listings, and ask 2.37x against 2.87x for franchise resales without the label (Main Street Index, 30+ and 2,500+ listings, October 2026). Independent E-2 listings ask 2.33x. A resale gives you both things an officer likes: a brand and a track record.

A new franchise territory gives you only the brand. That is fine for E-2 if the plan is strong, but compare it with the existing businesses at the same price before you commit. The 37 copies of one $168K franchise pitch in this data are a reminder that a franchise salesperson and a business seller are different things. Our franchise vs independent business study compares the two on the full market.

Law-firm guides rank franchises first for E-2. That is reasonable advice for the visa file. As a buyer, also check the royalty: it comes out of the SDE that your marginality case depends on.

Disadvantages of buying an E-2 visa business

The biggest is that your status is tied to the business: under USCIS rules the investor “may only work in the activity for which he or she was approved,” and a sale, merger or acquisition is a substantive change that needs a new Form I-129 (USCIS). Sellers on E-2 feel this from the other side:

“Unfortunately, the E2 Visa ties her to this business, so we’re thinking about selling.”r/e2visa, a seller

• Temporary status. Stays come in increments of up to two years, with no limit on extensions, but you must keep an intention to depart. E-2 does not lead to a green card on its own.
• No SBA loan. More of your own money is at risk in one business.
• Seller exits look different. Retirement is 22.2% of stated reasons on E-2 listings against 40.8% across the US; relocation is 19.5% against 10.8% (220+ and 30,400+ stated reasons). Our study of why owners sell explains what each reason means for training and handover, and how long a seller stays after selling shows the training to expect.
• Consular variance. The same investment can be approved at one post and refused at another.

The main advantage is easy to miss: per USCIS, spouses in E-2 status are employment authorized incident to status. A household where one partner runs the business and the other keeps a career changes the marginality math. Sellers’ own reasons show why the timing works for them:

“Limited time available to manage the business”business-for-sale listing

“Owner is relocating internationally.”business-for-sale listing

Our disadvantages of buying an existing business guide covers the non-visa risks, which apply to you as much as to any buyer.

How to pick the best business to buy for an E-2 visa

Six checks, in order. The first two remove most of the market: 74.8% of E-2-marketed listings with earnings ask more than $150K, and none can be bought with an SBA loan (Main Street Index and SBA, October 2026).

1. Confirm your nationality qualifies. Check the treaty table before anything else. India, Brazil, Russia and mainland China are not treaty countries for E-2.
2. Set an all-cash budget. Assume no SBA loan. Price + working capital + legal and filing costs must come from funds you can show are yours and at risk.
3. Screen out packages. Drop listings with no stated SDE and descriptions repeated across states. 75 of 370+ E-2 listings are templated.
4. Test marginality with real numbers. Prefer SDE well above your family's living costs plus staff you will direct. Below about $60K of SDE with few employees is the risk zone.
5. Check the price against the industry. E-2 listings ask a median 0.94x their industry norm. Compare each one before you treat the label as a discount or a premium.
6. Write the role and the escrow into the LOI. Make the purchase conditional on the visa with funds in escrow, and describe the executive role you will hold.

The guide to buying a business with Main Street Index shows how to filter listings by state, industry and price, and the due diligence help page shows how to check one listing against its peers. If you work in Claude or ChatGPT, the Main Street Index MCP tools answer the same questions in chat once you set up the BigIdeasDB MCP. Field definitions are in the Main Street Index docs. For the purchase steps after you pick, follow our how to buy a business walk-through.

Thinking of starting one instead?

Starting is the common E-2 route for consultancies and service firms, where practitioners report approvals on $30K to $50K of spend. For a buyer, the comparison is simple: the median E-2 listing asks $267.5K for $122.5K of owner earnings that already exist (Main Street Index, October 2026). A start-up spends less but has to prove its future income in a business plan. Our buy vs start a business study shows how much young businesses earn against established ones, and the best businesses to buy ranking scores 118 industries on payback and exits if you have not picked one yet.

What this data cannot tell you

Every figure here is what sellers ask and state on 370+ E-2-marketed listings, compared with 27,200+ other US listings; none is a closed sale or an approved visa (Main Street Index, October 2026). Six limits matter:

• “E-2 eligible” is the seller’s claim. No listing is pre-approved. Eligibility depends on you, your funds and your filing post.
• The label is not the market. Any qualifying business can support an E-2 case. The labelled set over-represents Florida and a few brokers.
• Small samples. No industry reaches 30 E-2 listings with earnings, so industry figures are withheld; only Florida reaches 30 among states.
• Asking, not closing. Final prices are usually lower, and stated SDE is unaudited.
• The all-cash return is illustrative. The $60K salary is our assumption.
• Legal summaries are general. Not legal advice. Rules and consular practice change.

Methodology and data sources

We started from 84,900+ listings in the Main Street Index and kept de-duplicated US listings whose description the buyer layer reads as marketed to E-2 investors: 370+ (three Canadian listings excluded). For prices and multiples we used the 200+ that state an asking price and owner earnings on an SDE basis in US dollars, and compared them with the 27,200+ US listings without the label on the same basis. All queries were read-only SQL, verified October 6, 2026. Every figure is a median, and cuts under 30 listings are withheld.

The industry-matched ratio divides each E-2 listing’s multiple by the median of same-industry US listings without the label, for industries with 30+ such listings, and takes the median. Templated listings are flagged when the opening of the description repeats on three or more listings in two or more states; all 75 flagged listings lack stated SDE, so they fall outside the price-and-SDE population and do not move its medians. Owner role and stated reasons come from the buyer and motivation layers, read from descriptions. EB-5-marketed listings (fewer than 30) are withheld.

Frequently asked questions