E-2 visa business plan for a trucking / logistics company
A trucking or logistics operation is one of the stronger E-2 fact patterns because it is unambiguously a real, active operating enterprise with hard assets (tractors, trailers, terminal or yard lease) and a payroll-driven model. The plan should present it as an asset-heavy carrier or freight brokerage with documented authority, equipment, and a staffing table, not a single owner-operator driving one truck.
What an E-2 trucking / logistics company plan has to prove
E-2 adjudication turns on a handful of tests. Here is how each one plays out for a trucking / logistics company specifically, not generic boilerplate.
Substantial investment
The proportionality test governs (no fixed minimum). Frame capital as substantial relative to standing up a compliant carrier: equipment purchases or down payments, FMCSA/DOT authority and registration, commercial insurance and surety bonds, ELDs, yard or terminal lease, and working capital for fuel and first-cycle payroll. Practitioners commonly observe trucking cases funded roughly in the $100k–$250k+ range, observation only; the test is whether the amount makes the carrier operational and is irrevocably committed and at risk.
Job creation
Build a credible staffing table beyond the investor: company drivers (W-2), a dispatcher, a safety/compliance manager, and an administrative/billing role as fleet size grows. Tie hiring milestones to truck count so the plan scales past an owner-operator footprint. Driver payroll is the most legible job-creation signal here.
Marginality rebuttal
The cleanest rebuttal in trucking is fleet growth and headcount: a multi-truck operation with W-2 company drivers demonstrably generates income beyond a minimal living. Pro-forma should show revenue-per-truck and load volume scaling so the five-year capacity picture is concrete. The pitfall is the one-truck owner-operator model, which reads as marginal.
What officers scrutinize
Officers probe whether this is a genuine carrier or a paper-authority shell: is the DOT/MC authority active, is equipment actually owned or leased (titles, lease agreements, invoices), is insurance bound, and are funds irrevocably committed. They test whether the investor will develop and direct (operations, safety, dispatch) versus passively own a truck someone else drives.
What your trucking / logistics company plan should emphasize
Build your trucking / logistics company plan outline
See the full USCIS-format section list and what your specific business model needs to emphasize in each. Add your treaty country for nationality-specific context.
Your E-2 plan outline
- 01Executive summary
The enterprise, the treaty-investor, the amount invested, and the headline case at a glance.
- 02Company & service/product
What the business does, its structure, and its stage of development.
- 03Substantial investment & capital at risk
An itemized use-of-funds showing the investment is proportional to the business and irrevocably committed: the E-2 substantiality test.
- 04Source-of-funds narrative
How the invested capital was lawfully acquired and traced into the enterprise.
- 05Market analysis
Industry sizing and named competitors with real comparisons, specific to the business model and location.
- 06Marketing & operations plan
How the business reaches customers and runs day to day.
- 07Organization & management (develop-and-direct)
Ownership stake and the investor's operational-control role, framed to the E-2 develop-and-direct standard.
- 08U.S. job-creation staffing table
A year-by-year staffing chart with roles, headcount, and wages: the core marginality rebuttal.
- 095-year financial projections
P&L, cash-flow, and break-even built from your numbers, with the assumptions behind every figure stated.
- 10Marginality rebuttal
Evidence the enterprise generates more than a minimal living, via job creation and future capacity generally realizable within ~5 years.
What a trucking / logistics company plan must emphasize
- Equipment schedule with purchase invoices or lease agreements and titles, distinguishing committed capital from working capital
- FMCSA/USDOT authority, MC number, insurance binders, surety bond, and ELD/compliance setup as evidence of a real, active enterprise
- Staffing table with W-2 company drivers, dispatcher, and safety/compliance roles tied to fleet-growth milestones
- Revenue-per-truck and load-volume pro-forma showing five-year capacity beyond a minimal living
- Investor's operational role in dispatch, safety, and fleet management, plus contracted shipper/broker relationships or LOIs
This builds the structure of a USCIS-format business-plan document for your business model. It is general information, not legal or immigration advice, and does not assess your eligibility. E-2 has no fixed minimum investment; confirm your strategy with a licensed immigration attorney.
See what you actually get
A trucking / logistics company plan makes these arguments in writing, in USCIS format, not as a fill-in-the-blank template. A page from a plan:
6. The Enterprise Is Not Marginal
The enterprise does not exist solely to provide a minimal living for the investor. As shown in the five-year projections (Exhibit C), it generates operating profit above the income needed to support the investor and family.
Independently, the enterprise makes a significant economic contribution through U.S. job creation, with roles, wages, and hire dates specified in the staffing table (Exhibit D). Either basis is sufficient; both are satisfied here.
Under 9 FAM 402.9, an enterprise is not marginal where it has the present or future capacity, generally within five years, to generate more than a minimal living or to make a significant economic contribution…
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E-2 trucking / logistics company plan FAQ
E-2 plans for other businesses
Sources
- travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/fees/treaty.html
- www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/e-2-treaty-investors
- travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/treaty-trader-investor-visa-e.html
E-2 guidance last reviewed 2026-06-30. General information about structuring a business-plan document, not legal or immigration advice; E-2 has no fixed minimum investment, and eligibility depends on your facts as assessed by a consular officer or USCIS. Confirm with a licensed immigration attorney.
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