Eligible derivatives are not additional EB-5 investors merely by accompanying. Identify actual investors and family eligibility separately.
Keep workers and relatives distinct
The investor, spouse, sons and daughters and nonimmigrants are excluded from qualifying EB-5 workers. Household size does not substitute for a job allocation account. Eligible derivatives generally are the spouse and unmarried children under 21, with any applicable CSPA protection assessed on the individual facts.
Eligibility for inclusion and any age protection under the Child Status Protection Act require individualized calculation; visa availability and the timing of specific filings affect the outcome, and a child's age is not automatically frozen simply because the investment was made or the petition filed. Ask counsel to assess CSPA timing using the actual petition and visa-availability dates rather than a preferred school transition date, and keep a contingency plan for a delay, since neither an investment nor a filed petition freezes a child's qualifying age by itself.
- 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- 8 CFR 204.6 — employment definitions and participation; capital amounts superseded by statute