WorkflowBusiness & Investor Immigration

E-2 Visa Source of Funds Tracing

E-2 visa source of funds tracing that follows an investor’s money from each declared source, account by account and rate by rate, into escrow and the business.

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The problem

Each investor’s money trail is rebuilt by hand, one statement at a time

The investor names where the money came from, and a paralegal turns that into a document list. Statements trickle in by email over weeks, each in its own bank’s layout and currency. Transfers get matched in a spreadsheet, rates get copied from bank PDFs, and the attorney rechecks the narrative figure by figure.

The trouble shows up late: a statement month that never came, a cash deposit, a transfer from a sibling, a joint account where the spouse’s pay also lands, or money sent back home. An escrow clause may hand the deposit back for something other than a visa refusal. Each costs another round with the client, and one that slips through can stall the case at the interview.

Built forImmigration attorneysParalegalsManaging partnersInvestor clients

The Problem Today

An investor’s money crosses banks, borders and currencies, and the consulate wants every hop explained.

55,324: E-2 visas issued in fiscal year 2024, dependants included published
1 in 10: E-2 applications refused at least once published

Reconciled by hand today

Statements
Transfers
FX rates
Requests

Gaps found the week beforeA missing month surfaces just before the interview
Flat fee, open-ended hoursEach extra round with the client comes out of margin

The Solution

Checklist from the sourcesEach source the client declares becomes the documents it needs
Each transfer matchedDebit and credit found on both statements, at that day’s rate
Unexplained money set asideCash and third-party credits left out; lawful money still covers it
Cited narrative, signedBullets in the consulate’s format, each figure linked to its page

Built-in controls

Nothing goes to a client or consulate unsigned
Tax and account numbers masked in each output
Client data never used to train models

What You Get

The attorney signs a source-of-funds section the consulate can follow, with each exclusion explained in writing.

2 hours: of paralegal time per file, down from 8–20 our estimate

One request to the clientOnly what is missing, each with the reason it matters
Gaps found before filingRound trips and missing months explained in the file
Each post’s own formatThe same trace, rendered to the post’s tab order and page budget

Feature by feature

How E-2 visa source of funds tracing works, one screen at a time

Each screen is one part of the work: what it does, how it does it, and whose problem it solves.

01Files on the filing runway
A filing runway that puts the file nearest its gap first
How it works
- Every open E-2 file on one board, by consulate and filing week
- Money traced against money invested, shown as one bar per file
- The checklist count, open exceptions and next step on each row
- A file eight days from filing with a gap in its trace rises to the top
Senior paralegalStarts the morning knowing which of forty files needs her first, without opening each one to find out.
02Checklist from the declared sources
A document checklist built from the sources the investor declares
How it works
- Each declared source expands into the evidence that proves it
- Savings, a home sale and a gift become 24 documents, from tax slips to the donor's own statements
- Each line reads received or missing, with its exhibit
- The investor sees the same list in plain words, tax and account numbers hidden
Senior paralegalNo document list typed up from intake notes, and no declared source left without its proof.
03Statement coverage
Each statement read in its own bank's layout, every transaction cited
How it works
- Statements, confirmations and tax forms read, scanned or digital
- Each transaction cited to its page
- A coverage grid shows each account month by month
- A missing month shows as a red square before anyone drafts a word
Senior paralegalSees the missing January statement the day the file opens, not the week before filing.
04Funds trace
A funds trace that matches each transfer at both ends
How it works
- Each hop drawn as a line as wide as its money
- Debit and credit matched across accounts and currencies at that day's rate
- Clicking a wire opens both ends, each tied to its statement page
- USD 215,000 into escrow, matched at both ends with three citations
Associate attorneyFollows the money from each source into escrow without rebuilding the spreadsheet by hand.
05Coverage proof, savings
A coverage proof that leaves out money it cannot explain
How it works
- Starts from the balance of the account the money left
- Takes out the cash deposit and the transfer from a friend
- Checks the transfer out against the lawful money that remains
- CAD 110,000 out against CAD 118,600 of payroll money
Associate attorneyCan show that the money sent came from lawful pay, even from an account where other money also landed.
06Exceptions
Exceptions that arrive with their rule, their evidence and a next step
How it works
- Gaps, cash, third parties, round trips and escrow terms flagged
- Each finding shows its evidence and the agent that raised it
- Items already explained are set aside with a reason
- Of eight exceptions, only three need anything from the client
Senior paralegalSpends the morning on the three items that need the investor, not on all eight.
07Request to the client
One request to the investor, with a reason beside each document
How it works
- Drafted from the open exceptions and the checklist
- Each document asked for carries one line on why it matters
- A document the case can do without is marked optional
- Nothing goes to the investor until the paralegal approves it
Senior paralegalReplaces weeks of back and forth by email with one request the investor can answer in a sitting.
08Note to the closing attorney
Escrow terms read so the investment stays at risk
How it works
- Reads the escrow agreement clause by clause
- Flags any condition that returns the deposit for a reason other than a visa refusal
- Drafts a note to the closing attorney naming the clause and the fix
- Catches clause 4.2(b), which hands the deposit back if the landlord withholds consent
Managing partnerGets an escrow term fixed before closing, instead of defending it after the officer asks.
09Signed narrative
A source-of-funds narrative in bullets, each figure linked to its exhibit
How it works
- Bullets in the post's own format, with a sources-and-uses table
- Each figure links to its exhibit page
- The sources-and-uses table ties to USD 272,541.16
- The checks before signing list what is still requested
Managing partnerSigns a narrative she can check figure by figure on day two, where by hand it takes six working days.

A pension lump sum behind the gift, and three more finds in one file

Four findings from the same file, each answered in writing before filing.

A second source behind the gift

Her father’s balance covers the GBP 40,000, but GBP 25,000 of it came from a pension lump sum. A gift letter alone is not enough, so the lump-sum statement joins the request.

Money sent back home

USD 14,600 went from the USD account back to the joint account, and CAD 19,950.00 paid the tax balance owing the next day. It reads as a round trip until the notice of assessment is in.

A sister’s wire in the joint account

AUD 9,500 from her sister landed beside the spouse’s pay. The home-sale proceeds alone cover the transfer out, so the wire is excluded in one bullet and her records go no further.

A bank rate 0.6% off the reference

The home-sale money converted at 1.3690 against a central-bank reference of 1.3608, inside the firm’s 2% tolerance. Both rates are cited, and the item closes as information.

Around the file

The rest of the E-2 visa source of funds file, screen by screen

What the investor, the associate and the partner open around the trace.

Investor’s view of the document checklist: the missing documents in plain words, each with the reason it is needed and an upload link — **What the investor sees**The same checklist in plain words: what is still to send, each item with why it matters and an upload button. Tax and account numbers stay hidden.

Statement lines filtered to those needing a look: a cash deposit, an e-Transfer, a sister’s wire and a tax payment, each cited to a statement page — **Lines that need a look**Cash, third-party credits, the spouse’s pay and the money sent back home, each read as written on the statement and cited to its page.

Commingled account tracing for the joint account: home-sale proceeds as the lawful line, with the spouse’s pay and a sister’s wire hatched and set aside — **The joint account, proven**CAD 190,000 left the joint account against CAD 192,228 of home-sale proceeds, so the spouse’s pay and the sister’s wire are not relied on.

Escrow agreement clause 4.2 opened from its citation: the deposit returns on a visa refusal or if the landlord fails to consent to the lease — **The clause, at its page**Each citation opens the page it was read from. Here, clause 4.2 of the escrow agreement, with the landlord condition that keeps the deposit from being at risk.

Source of funds narrative re-rendered table first for another post, sources and uses totalling USD 272,541.16, at 4.2 of 5 pages — **Another post’s format**One click re-renders the same trace table first, with short bullets, at 4.2 pages of a 5-page budget. The citations and totals stay as they were.

Filing package index with page counts per tab, the source of funds tab signed and waiting on one statement, and the escrow amendment requested — **The filing package**Nine tabs in the post’s order, cover letter and DS-160 confirmations through intent to depart, 118 pages, with two items still open.

The paralegal approves each message, and an attorney approves each exclusion

Agents prepare the file. People decide what leaves it and what is left out.

Senior paralegal

Sees: The runway of open files, the checklist and each message drafted for the client
Signs: Approves each client request before it is sent

Associate attorney

Sees: The exceptions, each with its rule, its evidence and a recommendation
Signs: Approves exclusions, and signs the narrative on standard files

Managing partner

Sees: The narrative beside its checks, and notes bound for the closing attorney
Signs: Signs the hardest narratives and what goes to the closing attorney

Investor client

Sees: A plain list of what is missing and why each item matters
Signs: The engagement letter, with its notice that AI is used on the file

Family donors

Sees: A privacy notice saying what their records are used for
Signs: The gift letter and their own consent

The agents

Seven agents trace the money, and none of them rules a source lawful

Each has one job and one line it does not cross.

Checklist agent

Turns each declared source into its evidence list, by country and by post.

Never decides that a source is lawful

Statement reader

Reads statements, confirmations and tax forms in any bank’s layout, scanned or digital, and cites each line.

Never edits a figure

Trace agent

Matches each debit to its credit across accounts and currencies, and draws the lawful-balance coverage.

Never relies on an excluded credit
A gap on the path stops the proof

Red-flag checker

Flags gaps, cash, third parties, mixed accounts, round trips, escrow conditions and loans secured by the business.

Never accuses: it asks
Never excludes without a person

FX checker

Puts the bank’s rate beside the central-bank reference for that date.

Never mixes rate sources in one table

Narrative agent

Drafts the bullets, the sources-and-uses table and the client request, in the post’s format.

Never sends anything

Privacy guard

Masks tax and account numbers, tracks consents and logs reads.

Never lets a document leave unmasked

What investor-visa attorneys ask about E-2 visa source of funds tracing

What is E-2 visa source of funds tracing?

E-2 visa source of funds tracing shows where an investor’s money came from and how it reached the business, hop by hop. This solution builds the checklist from the sources the client declares, reads each statement, matches each transfer at both ends at that day’s rate, and drafts a cited narrative that an attorney signs.

How does it handle a joint account where other money also lands?

It sets the unexplained credits aside and draws the lawful balance against each transfer out, the lowest-balance method forensic accountants use for mixed accounts. If lawful money covers the transfer, the other credits are named in one bullet and left out. If it does not, the trace stops and asks for evidence.

Does it check that the escrow keeps the investment at risk?

Yes. The red-flag checker reads the escrow agreement’s return conditions. A deposit that can come back for anything other than a visa refusal is flagged as fix before filing, and the managing partner can approve a drafted note to the closing attorney.

What does the path of funds look like when a parent gives the money?

The donor’s letter is only the start. The checklist asks for the donor’s identity and relationship, the donor’s own statements and where that balance came from, the wire on both sides, and the donor’s privacy notice and consent. A spouse’s half of a jointly owned home takes a spousal gift letter.

How are the client’s and the family’s records protected?

Tax and account numbers are masked before the agents read them and in all they produce. Consent is held for each person whose records are used, third parties included, and each read is logged. A third party whose money is not relied on keeps only a name and an amount in the file.

Does it handle EB-5 source of funds too?

The firm’s settings hold an EB-5 ruleset beside the E-2 ones. The checklist, the trace, the exceptions and the citations work the same way under it.

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against its own statements.

We’ll walk you through the checklist, the trace and the narrative on a case your firm has already filed.

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E-2 Visa Source of Funds Tracing

Each investor’s money trail is rebuilt by hand, one statement at a time

The Problem Today

The Solution

What You Get

How E-2 visa source of funds tracing works, one screen at a time

A filing runway that puts the file nearest its gap first

A document checklist built from the sources the investor declares

Each statement read in its own bank's layout, every transaction cited

A funds trace that matches each transfer at both ends

A coverage proof that leaves out money it cannot explain

Exceptions that arrive with their rule, their evidence and a next step

One request to the investor, with a reason beside each document

Escrow terms read so the investment stays at risk

A source-of-funds narrative in bullets, each figure linked to its exhibit