Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Keep the two histories distinct
Identify the real donors, their lawful sources, gift terms and transfers. Do not describe a repayable contribution as a gift or merge separate histories into one unsupported narrative. Relevant tax and financial records must meet the actual case requirements.
Meet enterprise and investment conditions
The general capital threshold is US$1.05 million, or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project, with statutory adjustment starting January 1, 2027. Qualifying capital must be at risk and support at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor under the applicable direct or regional-centre framework. Determine the applicable capital threshold by the petition filing date, rather than the date of a wire, invoice or later I-829 filing.
Preserve participation and later obligations
Management or policy-formulation participation is required; qualifying limited-partner rights can suffice. Petition approval alone does not grant residence or employment permission. Following the applicable residence process, I-829 generally is filed during the 90 days before the second anniversary of conditional residence; filing does not guarantee removal of conditions or repayment.
Decide between a regional-center project and a direct investment
The program generally requires the creation of at least ten permanent full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers, with different evidentiary approaches for a standalone enterprise versus a regional center arrangement. Full-time normally means at least 35 hours weekly, and investor, spouse and children are excluded as qualifying workers. The regional center, not the investor, documents the TEA designation, but the investor should read it, because a project marketed as TEA that does not qualify leaves the investor short of the standard amount. A statutory exception concerns a buyback solely at the enterprise’s discretion; exercising that option requires petition withdrawal unless the applicable sustainment and other requirements have been fulfilled. Read the distribution and redemption provisions with counsel rather than relying on a summary in marketing material, since a right that looks like a guaranteed exit can be the very term that puts the at-risk requirement in question. In a regional-center investment, certain indirect and induced jobs may count under an economic methodology, which changes the evidence but does not remove the requirement. Direct qualifying employees exclude independent contractors, nonimmigrants, the investor, spouse and sons or daughters. Investors must also be engaged in the management or policy formulation of the enterprise, which a limited partnership interest carrying the rights ordinarily accorded to limited partners can satisfy.
Understand engagement and job creation in a regional-center project
Approval of the investor petition leads to immigrant-visa processing or adjustment of status, subject to visa availability. A targeted employment area is a rural area or one of high unemployment, determined by criteria set out in the statute and applied to the location of the new commercial enterprise or, in the relevant circumstances, of the job-creating activity. Form I-829 is filed within the ninety days immediately before the two-year conditional period expires, and it asks for proof that the enterprise was sustained and that the required employment was created or, in some circumstances, will be created within a reasonable time. A regional-center filing places capital into a sponsored project where permitted indirect job methods may apply and where other parties control construction, leasing and reporting. Review the enterprise structure, offering documents, planned use of capital, fees, project timetable, job-creation assumptions, conflicts, and exit risks with advisers qualified for those questions. Note the date the capital was actually deployed into the business, because sustainment and job-creation questions are measured from real events rather than from the day a subscription agreement was signed. Buying into an established distributor therefore raises the harder question first: is this a new commercial enterprise, has it been restructured or expanded such that new positions are created, or is it a troubled business where existing jobs may be preserved instead?
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.