Yes, a Canadian can buy a business in the US. You don't need a visa, a green card, or an American partner, and you can handle most of the purchase from your kitchen table in Winnipeg.

The catch never makes the headline. Owning the business and being allowed to run it while you live in the US are two separate approvals, and the second decides whether the move happens.

I bought a yacht repair company in West Palm Beach in August 2024 and moved down on an E-2 to run it. This is the version I wish I'd had.

Can a Canadian Legally Buy a Business in the US?

Yes, and foreign ownership of an American company is completely ordinary. The limits that exist cover a short list of industries, plus what you can do inside the business once it's yours.

You Can Own a US Business Without a Visa, a Green Card or a US Partner

A Canadian can buy the shares or assets of a US company and stay a non-resident the whole time. No American has to hold any piece of it, and you can form the entity, sign the purchase agreement, and wire the funds without setting foot in the state. The answer to "can a Canadian own a business in the US" is yes, full stop.

Owning It and Being Allowed to Run It Are Two Different Approvals

Buying the company is a business and tax transaction. Working inside it on US soil is an immigration question with its own answer. Forming the entity, getting an Employer Identification Number (EIN), opening a US business bank account, hiring staff: a Canadian non-resident can do all of it, and none of it grants work authorization. Getting paid only by your Canadian company doesn't change that.

Which Businesses Canadians Cannot Buy

A few sectors carry real federal limits on foreign ownership: broadcast licensing, defense contracting, air transport, and shipping between US ports under the Jones Act. State licensing trips up more people, and some states want a licensed US resident in the ownership structure for trades, liquor, and healthcare. Check license transferability early, because a license that can't move to a new owner kills a good deal.

What Visa Do You Need to Actually Run the Business You Buy?

For most Canadians, it's the E-2 treaty investor visa. The alternatives are the EB-5 immigrant investor program for permanent residency, and the L-1A intracompany transferee visa if you're expanding a company you already run in Canada. It's one of every legal path from Canada to the US, and the only one that needs no employer or sponsor.

The E-2 Treaty Investor Visa (What Most Canadians Use)

Canada sits on the US treaty country list, which is what makes the E-2 visa for Canadians possible. USCIS spells out what you have to show:

• At least 50% of the US business is owned by Canadian nationals.
• Your money counts as a substantial investment next to what that business costs.
• The funds are lawfully obtained, with a documented source of funds.
• The money is irrevocably committed and genuinely an at risk investment.
• The business is real and operating, not an idea on paper.
• It clears the marginality requirement, earning more than a minimal living for your family.
• You develop and direct it rather than sit back as a passive owner.

There's no published minimum dollar figure, which throws people. Substantiality is proportional, so a $90,000 service business and a $900,000 manufacturer get measured differently. For Canadians the E-2 runs five years and renews indefinitely while the business operates, your spouse can get work authorization, and kids under 21 come along as dependents.

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Green Card

The EB-5 immigrant investor program is the permanent version. It asks for far more capital plus job creation, and hands you a green card at the end. It fits someone whose goal is living in the US rather than running a company.

The L-1A Intracompany Transfer

The L-1A intracompany transferee visa only applies if you already own an active Canadian company and you're expanding it south. The two entities need a qualifying relationship, like parent and subsidiary, plus one continuous year of managerial or executive work there within the past three. It has one edge the E-2 doesn't: a later path to an EB-1C green card.

Why a B-1 Visitor or TN Status Will Not Cover You

The B-1 business visitor category covers meetings, negotiations, and sizing up an investment. The Department of State's B-1 guidance is blunt that those visits can't include actual work in the US. TN status is for a listed professional occupation working for a qualifying employer, and controlling the company that employs you creates problems fast.

If you want the whole E-2 path in one place, I put it in a free guide covering how the visa, the purchase, and the move line up.

How Do You Actually Buy a US Business From Canada?

The order runs from picking a market to closing, then the visa. Buying a business in the USA as a Canadian is a cross-border business purchase, which adds a trickier entity question, money crossing a border, and a visa filing shaped by the structure.

Step 1: Pick the State and the Type of Business First

State choice drives your tax bill, licensing burden, and operating costs. Florida, Texas, Nevada, and North Carolina keep coming up whenever Canadians compare the best states to buy a business. One correction: for an E-2, you register where the business physically operates, not in Delaware or Wyoming.

Step 2: Find Businesses That Are Actually for Sale

Start with the national broker marketplaces, then state and industry brokers who know the local market. Direct outreach to owners near retirement turns up unlisted deals. Filter on verified financials early, because a good business broker has them ready.

Step 3: Do Real Due Diligence on the Financials and the Liabilities

Read three years of tax returns against the profit and loss statements and ask why they disagree. Then check customer concentration, lease assignability, liens, and license transferability. Due diligence is the part that saves you. Run the seller through a structured list instead of winging it. I keep a checklist of the ten questions that matter most for that conversation.

Step 4: Decide How You Are Buying It and What Entity Holds It

The asset purchase vs share purchase decision controls which liabilities follow you home. Most small deals are asset purchases, because buying the assets leaves the seller's debts behind. The LLC vs corporation question has a different answer for a Canadian than for an American, which I'll cover below.

Step 5: Write the Purchase Agreement With an Escrow and a Visa Contingency

This is the step that matters most, and most guides skim right past it. Your funds go into escrow so they're irrevocably committed, which the E-2 demands, while a visa contingency protects you if it gets refused. That clause has to convince an officer the money is at risk and convince you it isn't gone. Use a lawyer who's written one before.

Step 6: Get the EIN, the Bank Account, the Licenses and the Insurance

You can get an EIN without a US Social Security Number. The bank account is harder, since plenty of banks still want foreign owners in person. Licenses, permits, and insurance usually need to exist before the visa filing, and if the business operates in a second state, handle foreign qualification too.

Step 7: Close, Then File the Visa

The investment goes in first, the visa application second. Unlike TN status and L-1, Canadians can't pick up an E-2 at a port of entry, so you file with a US consulate in Canada and interview there.

Consulate choice matters more than you'd expect. According to the US Department of State, US posts in Canada issued 745 E-2 visas in February 2026, and Toronto handled 620 of them. That's 83.2% of the country's volume in one month, against 51 in Ottawa, 40 in Vancouver, and 34 in Calgary. Toronto handles roughly five times every other Canadian post combined, so its officers see these files constantly.

The Canada to US Blueprint is the long version, with the diagrams and investment breakdowns I wish I'd had before we bought ours. You can find it here.

How Much Does It Cost, and How Do You Pay for It?

Budget the purchase price plus another 15% to 25% for professional fees, working capital, and the move. Financing changed in 2026, and it's now the biggest gap between how Americans and Canadians buy small businesses!

The Purchase Price Is Not the Number That Matters

Small US businesses get priced off a multiple of earnings, so one soft year moves the asking price a lot. The real budget adds legal and immigration fees, due diligence, a business plan for the visa filing, licensing, and working capital.

Canadians Can No Longer Use SBA Loans (This Changed in 2026)

If you read one section here, make it this one. As of March 1, 2026, SBA policy requires 100% of all direct and indirect owners of a business getting SBA-guaranteed financing to be US citizens or nationals living inside the United States.

A Canadian buyer no longer qualifies for an SBA 7(a) loan or a 504 loan. Not at 49%, not at 10%, not at 1%. The SBA extended the same restriction to its Microloan and Surety Bond programs on April 1, 2026.

That rule does more damage than it looks because the SBA 7(a) loan is how most Americans buy small businesses, often financing 80% or more of the purchase. Without it, your equity has to cover the entire price rather than a down payment, which shrinks the range of businesses you can reach.

A lot of the advice on this topic is now out of date, and any guide still telling you to look into SBA financing was written before February 2026. One fair carve-out: loans issued before the cutoff aren't affected retroactively, though a later ownership change triggers a fresh review.

What Canadians Are Actually Using Instead

Seller financing has become the main tool. Sellers heading into retirement will often carry a note, and one who does is telling you something about their numbers. Cash from a Canadian home sale is next, with the risk that your house has to sell on schedule. We chose to do a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit), so we didn't have to actually sell our condo, we just borrowed against it.

Structure matters for the visa too: money borrowed against the business's own assets generally doesn't count toward your at risk investment, while a personal loan secured by your own assets usually does.

Moving the Money Across the Border

A CAD to USD transfer of several hundred thousand dollars on a fixed closing date is a project of its own. Rate movement between signing and closing can swing your cost by tens of thousands, so plan it early. Your paperwork starts here, because every wire ends up as part of proving your source of funds later.

What Taxes Will You Owe in Canada and the US?

You'll probably owe something on both sides during the transition year. The Canada-US tax treaty prevents double taxation, but you have to claim it, and the wrong entity choice can leave you outside its protection.

You May Owe on Both Sides

Your US business owes federal income tax plus state and local taxes, and a handful of states skip personal income tax, which explains a lot of Florida, Texas, and Nevada's appeal. What you report on the Canadian side depends on your residency and entity structure. Cross-border tax planning before closing costs a fraction of untangling it later.

Why an LLC Is Often the Wrong Entity for a Canadian

This one trips up almost every Canadian buyer. The IRS treats a US LLC as a flow-through entity while the Canada Revenue Agency treats it as a corporation, and that mismatch can create real double taxation and block treaty benefits. The structure a US buyer defaults to is often wrong for you.

Your Personal Tax Residency Changes Too

Leaving Canada raises its own questions about when you stop being a Canadian tax resident and which ties you sever, with property, bank accounts, and provincial health coverage all feeding in. Get a cross-border accountant involved before closing, not after.

Why Do You Have to Buy the Business Before You Get the Visa?

Because the E-2 wants your investment committed and at risk the day you apply. The business has to be bought before you file, which means putting real money into a company in a country you're not yet allowed to work in.

The At-Risk Requirement Creates a Chicken-and-Egg Problem

The Department of State won't issue an E-2 on an intention to invest. The funds have to be irrevocably committed, and a refundable deposit in your account doesn't count. So you sign, wire a life-changing sum across the border, and only then find out whether you get to move. It's as uncomfortable as it sounds! 

How Buyers Protect Themselves Anyway

The standard fix is escrow paired with a visa contingency. The money sits with a third party on terms that make it irrevocably committed, and comes back if the visa is refused. Consistency is the other protection. Your purchase agreement, business plan, and interview answers have to tell one story, because inconsistency sinks more filings than weak businesses do.

What Happens if the Visa Is Refused

A well-drafted contingency returns the escrowed purchase funds. It doesn't return what you spent getting there. Legal fees, immigration counsel, due diligence, and travel are unfortunately gone either way, realistically five figures.

What This Means for the Rest of the Family

Your spouse gets work authorization as an E-2 dependent and can take any job in the US, though that and your kids' status hinge on the principal applicant being approved first. The credit score thing catches everyone off guard. Your Canadian credit score doesn't come with you, so you land with no US score and get to prove yourself again to a car dealership. Get a bank account and secured credit card ASAP to start building up that credit! 

Sequence the family side around the visa timeline, not ahead of it. Don't resign, list the house, or pull kids from school before the visa is issued. If you're still weighing whether the move is actually worth it, settle that before the offer, not after your wire transfer.

Lauren Landed provides educational content only and does not provide legal or immigration advice. Always consult a licensed US immigration attorney and a cross-border accountant about your own situation.