Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Identify the report that describes the actual project
Compare the version dates, input sources and relevant project changes. Ask what is completed and what remains projected. Do not combine favorable assumptions from different versions into an unsupported new model.
Keep investment and jobs linked to requirements
At least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor must be supported under the permitted framework. Regional-centre methods differ from direct employment cases. Capital generally is US$1.05 million or US$800,000 for qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure projects, with statutory adjustments from January 1, 2027. Determine the applicable capital threshold by the petition filing date, rather than the date of a wire, invoice or later I-829 filing.
Complete the investor’s own record
Qualifying at-risk capital needs lawful source and path. Management or policy-formulation participation is required, including qualifying limited-partner rights where applicable. Petition approval is not residence; the applicable process follows, and I-829 generally is filed in the 90 days before the second anniversary of conditional residence, without automatic removal or repayment on filing.
Decide between a regional-center project and a direct investment
A direct EB-5 investment must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers, meaning citizens, permanent residents and other authorized immigrants, employed by the new commercial enterprise itself for at least thirty-five hours per week. EB-5 requires participation through day-to-day managerial control or policy formulation; it does not universally require every investor to run daily operations, and a marketing label does not establish that the participation requirement is met. A regional center's designation is not a government guarantee of any project's performance or of an immigration outcome. The core decision is whether the documents support an immigrant investment case as filed, rather than whether the project marketing material uses the word 'participation' or forecasts a large economic benefit. Where regional-center rules allow indirect jobs, use the appropriate methodology rather than assuming construction progress supplies the result. The investor, spouse, sons or daughters, nonimmigrant workers and independent contractors do not qualify as direct employees. An enterprise’s option to buy back the interest solely at its own discretion has a statutory exception, subject to sustainment and the other governing conditions; it is not an investor repayment entitlement. Read the offering's job-creation methodology and ask how many investors share the same jobs; a project that has oversubscribed its job count is a risk to every investor in it.
Investment amount, targeted employment area and job creation
Under the 2022 legislation the standard investment amount is one million fifty thousand United States dollars, with eight hundred thousand for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project, and the statute provides for periodic adjustment. A regional-center designation identifies a sponsor approved to participate in the program. Whether a particular rural or high-unemployment location qualifies as a targeted employment area is a factual determination supported by evidence, not a description the investor chooses. Full-time means at least thirty-five hours a week; job-sharing arrangements can qualify where the statute permits, but simply adding several part-time roles together does not. A limited partner in a properly structured regional-center vehicle can meet this through the rights that the partnership agreement gives, but that only works if those rights are real and documented. Do not transfer a regional-centre economic model into a standalone business as though both use identical proof. Where the investment is made through a designated regional center, jobs created indirectly may be counted using accepted economic methodologies, which is why regional center offerings often satisfy the requirement more easily on paper. Sequence the review before subscription, because a missing source document or job-model assumption may affect whether the investor proceeds, renegotiates, or declines the offering.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.