IN THIS GUIDE · Connect a project phase to the applicable qualifying-job method
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Identify what the forecast measures
Hypothetical example: a presentation combines project spending and anticipated operating staff. Explain the actual job methodology and relevant evidence. A spending total is not automatically a direct payroll count or proof of qualifying jobs for the investor.
Apply the correct framework
EB-5 generally requires ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor under the applicable direct or regional-center framework. Permitted regional-center methods and direct employment evidence should not be interchanged without analysis. Existing payroll is not universally new creation; qualifying troubled-business preservation has separate conditions. For direct employment, qualifying full-time positions require at least 35 hours per week. Independent contractors, nonimmigrants, and the investor, spouse, sons and daughters do not count as qualifying employees; apply permitted regional-center methods separately.
Preserve individual capital and participation
Current thresholds are US$1.05 million or US$800,000 in qualifying targeted-employment-area or infrastructure cases, with statutory adjustments beginning January 1, 2027 tied to the relevant petition filing date. Lawful source and path, capital at risk and management or policy participation remain necessary.
Separate project milestones from residence
Conditional residence begins through immigrant admission or adjustment approval, not a construction milestone or petition approval alone. I-829 generally falls in the 90 days before the second anniversary of conditional residence. Filing does not itself remove conditions or return capital.
Use the current capital, job and residence conditions
As checked September 7, 2026, the standard capital minimum is US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project. Statutory adjustments begin January 1, 2027; confirm the filing-date amount. At least ten qualifying permanent full-time jobs are required, with the applicable standalone or regional-center method assessed. The investor petition does not itself grant residence: the applicable immigrant-visa or adjustment process follows. Conditional residence then requires removal of conditions, with Form I-829 generally filed in the 90 days before its second anniversary.
Read the capital rights before relying on the amount
Gifted or borrowed funds require lawful-source evidence and a good-faith arrangement that is not used to circumvent restrictions on permissible capital sources. Capital exchanged for a contractual right to repayment or a guaranteed rate of return is excluded. 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.
Decide between a regional-center project and a direct investment
At least ten full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers must be created, or the I-829 record must establish that they can be expected to be created within a reasonable time. A credible EB-5 offering should include a formal targeted employment area designation letter or equivalent supporting documentation tied to the specific project location and the underlying unemployment data or infrastructure approval relied upon. The investor must be engaged in the enterprise through day-to-day managerial control or policy formulation, which in a direct investment means genuine involvement rather than a passive interest. A credible plan identifies the positions, their hours, when they are filled and how they are sustained, and distinguishes construction activity from ongoing operations. Indirect jobs counted by economic models are a regional-centre concept and do not apply here. Subscription documents, the limited partnership or operating agreement, bank instructions and the issuer’s accounting should identify the treatment consistently; a label on a marketing deck does not decide it.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.
- USCIS — EB-5 investor program
- USCIS — business and investment visa overview
- USCIS — Child Status Protection Act
- Department of State — Visa Bulletin
- USCIS — fee schedule
- 8 USC 1153 — current investor capital and restrictions
- 8 CFR 204.6 — employment definitions and participation; capital amounts superseded by statute