Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Record the funds accurately
Preserve the actual source, ownership and transfer path, including pending status and any requested records. A bare promise is not enough to establish qualifying capital, while any supported process-of-investing arrangement must be assessed under the applicable requirements.
Keep the remaining EB-5 conditions visible
Capital generally is US$1.05 million or US$800,000 for qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure cases, with adjustments from January 1, 2027. At least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor, at-risk capital and management or policy-formulation participation remain necessary. Petition approval is not residence; I-829 generally follows within the 90 days before the second anniversary of conditional residence, without automatic removal or repayment. Determine the applicable capital threshold by the petition filing date, rather than the date of a wire, invoice or later I-829 filing.
Decide between a regional-center project and a direct investment
Outside a regional centre, the ten full-time positions must be filled by qualifying US workers employed directly by the new commercial enterprise, each at least thirty-five hours a week; independent contractors and the investor's own family do not count. In a regional centre investment this is ordinarily satisfied by the rights held as a limited partner or member under the project's governing documents, so those documents should be read to confirm the investor actually holds them. A regional-center investment may count indirect and induced jobs shown through an economic model, which is easier to reach but places the investor in a project whose job model, capital stack and timing are controlled by others. Direct full time generally means at least 35 hours weekly; contractors, nonimmigrants, the investor, spouse and sons or daughters are excluded. The investor must also be engaged in the enterprise beyond simply handing over money, through management or policy formulation, which a limited partnership structure can satisfy but which cannot simply be absent. A purchase option exercisable solely at the enterprise’s discretion has a narrow statutory exception, subject to the required sustainment and other conditions; it is not an investor’s repayment guarantee. A high-unemployment-area designation that expires after the qualifying investment does not by itself require the investor to increase the investment; confirm that the reduced threshold applied at the legally relevant time. The subscription documents, offering materials and the project's evidence should identify the enterprise, the investor's contribution and the basis for any claimed designation.
Use the current capital, job and residence conditions
The investor petition is followed by an immigrant visa or adjustment stage where eligible and visa availability permits. EB-5 is an immigrant category, which makes it different in kind from the temporary routes: it leads to permanent residence, first for a conditional two-year period and then, on a successful Form I-829 filed in the 90 days before the second anniversary, without conditions. The enterprise must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying United States workers, meaning citizens, lawful permanent residents and certain other authorised immigrants, but not the investor or the investor's immediate family. Verify the designation of the specific project and the current figures on the USCIS site at the time of investment, because the thresholds are subject to periodic adjustment under the statute. The condition is removed by a later petition showing that the capital remained invested and that the jobs were created and sustained, which means quarterly wage filings, payroll registers and hours for every position counted. Evaluate the project documents on their own terms: subscription provisions, risk disclosures, deployment mechanics, and the stated job-creation methodology. The family should ask how many investors the project accepts and how many jobs the model projects, because the ratio determines whether there is a margin if construction runs slow or spending falls short. Keep one dated list of events with their sources, because the two calendars merge by accident easily: subscription signed, funds transferred, petition filed, petition approved, admission or adjustment, conditional residence beginning, and the filing window before its second anniversary.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.