Investment Green Card

EB-5 investment immigration

EB-5 for investors. A considered route to U.S. residence.

For eligible investors and qualifying family members, EB-5 links a U.S. capital investment and job creation to a path toward legal permanent residence.

The framework

Three requirements at the center.

01

Qualifying capital

The minimum investment in a qualifying targeted employment area is $800,000 for petitions filed from March 15, 2022, through December 31, 2026.

02

Job creation

The investment generally must create or preserve at least 10 permanent full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers.

03

Lawful source

Petitions must document the lawful source and path of invested funds and satisfy the requirements applicable to the selected structure.

EB-5 investment options

Standalone or regional center? Compare control, scale, and incentives.

USCIS recognizes two principal filing routes: Form I-526 for a standalone investor and Form I-526E for a regional-center investor. Within the regional-center route, project size and sponsor experience shape the diligence and questions investors should ask before committing capital.

A documented project-side approval history can demonstrate experience. It does not guarantee approval of a new offering, an investor-specific petition, project performance, or repayment.
Route 01Form I-526

Standalone investment

Build or invest in an operating business

The business generally must create at least 10 qualifying full-time direct positions for each investor. This route can offer closer operational control, while placing more responsibility for execution, staffing, documentation, and continuing compliance on the investor and enterprise.

Review questions

The business plan, management team, working capital, hiring timetable, payroll evidence, and ability to absorb operating delays.

Route 02Form I-526E

Regional-center investment

Offerings vary in scale and sponsor experience. The profiles below are commercial diligence contexts within the same filing route – not additional legal routes.

Offering profile A

Established or larger offering

Evaluate the current project – not only the sponsor’s history

Established sponsors may have extensive project-side approval histories, experienced teams, fund administration, reporting systems, and a job-creation cushion. If independently verified and understood in context, those factors may support confidence in the project-side immigration record. An approved current-offering I-956F can reduce one category of uncertainty; investor eligibility, project performance, and repayment remain separate.

Review questions

Leverage; construction and completion exposure; intercreditor restrictions; refinancing assumptions; extension authority; conflicts; and enforcement rights. An extension may protect value, but continuing fees or retained-interest benefits can create competing incentives. Information and consent rights matter before a dispute with a well-resourced manager begins.

Offering profile B

Smaller offering

Fewer layers may improve visibility and responsiveness

A smaller offering may provide more direct access to principals, clearer visibility into how EB-5 capital is deployed, and a shorter path for reporting, consent, and amendment requests. When the project and capital stack are also comparatively simple, investors may find it easier to evaluate construction progress, financing priorities, job-creation assumptions, and the anticipated source of repayment. A smaller investor group may also provide greater flexibility to negotiate reporting rights, covenants, collateral protections, or limited guarantees addressing specified bad acts.

Review questions

Sponsor experience; project capitalization; completion reserves; key-person dependence; concentration risk; job-creation cushion; collateral and priority; guarantor solvency; and who may enforce each protection. A smaller offering is not necessarily safer.

EB-5 planning

A consultation can clarify the legal questions to address before a project is selected or a petition is filed.

Contact the team

EB-5 program background

How the EB-5 program evolved.

Congress created EB-5 to connect foreign investment with U.S. job creation. The Regional Center Program later expanded pooled investment and economic-model-based job creation, and use grew after the 2008 financial crisis as developers sought additional sources of project capital.

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 established the investment thresholds, reserved visa categories, project-filing process, and oversight framework investors encounter today. The next statutory milestone is the first inflation-linked adjustment to the minimum investment amounts on January 1, 2027. DHS must publish the official figures in the Federal Register.

Read the January 1, 2027 investor planning update

  1. EB-5 begins

    Congress creates an employment-based investor classification tied to capital investment and U.S. job creation.

  2. Regional Center Pilot Program

    The program expands to support pooled investment and qualifying job creation demonstrated through accepted economic methodologies.

  3. RIA framework

    The Reform and Integrity Act introduces the current thresholds, visa set-asides, project-specific filings, and expanded integrity requirements.

  4. Investment adjustment

    Minimum investment amounts are scheduled for their first inflation-linked adjustment for petitions filed on or after this date. DHS must publish the official figures.

A working roadmap

From planning to removal of conditions.

The exact order and documents depend on whether you invest directly or through a regional center and whether you process abroad or adjust status in the United States.

EB-5 capital must remain “at risk.” A visa, removal of conditions, repayment, or investment return is never guaranteed.
  1. 01

    Assess eligibility and timing

    Review family goals, source-of-funds history, visa availability, and the legal and commercial risks of the proposed investment.

  2. 02

    Conduct project due diligence

    Evaluate offering documents, job-creation methodology, conflicts, exit assumptions, and the parties responsible for the investment.

  3. 03

    Invest and document the funds

    Transfer capital under the governing documents and assemble evidence tracing the funds from a lawful source.

  4. 04

    File the immigrant petition

    Submit Form I-526 or I-526E, as applicable, with the investor, source-of-funds, and project evidence.

  5. 05

    Obtain conditional residence

    After petition approval and visa availability, pursue consular processing or adjustment of status, subject to individual eligibility.

  6. 06

    Seek removal of conditions

    File Form I-829 in the required window with evidence addressing investment sustainment and qualifying job creation.

Family perspective

One petition can shape more than one future.

A principal investor’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 may qualify as derivative beneficiaries, subject to visa availability, admissibility, age-out rules, and other individual requirements.

  1. Conditional residence

    After immigrant-visa admission or approval of adjustment of status, eligible investors and qualifying family members generally receive two years of conditional permanent residence.

  2. Permanent residence

    Once USCIS approves Form I-829, conditional residents continue as lawful permanent residents without conditions.

  3. Naturalization later

    Eligible permanent residents may later apply for U.S. citizenship if they independently satisfy all naturalization requirements.

Common questions

Before capital moves, ask better questions.

Does an $800,000 investment always qualify?

No. The lower threshold applies only to qualifying targeted-employment-area investments and certain infrastructure projects. Other qualifying investments currently require $1,050,000. Amounts and rules can change, so the applicable law and filing date matter.

Is the investment guaranteed to be repaid?

No. EB-5 capital must be at risk. Repayment depends on the investment documents, project performance, and applicable rights and remedies. Immigration approval and financial performance are separate questions.

Can my family be included?

A qualifying spouse and unmarried children under 21 may be included as derivative beneficiaries. Age, marital status, timing, visa availability, and admissibility require individual review.

Can EB-5 lead directly to citizenship?

EB-5 may lead to lawful permanent residence. Citizenship is a later, separate application available only after meeting residence, physical-presence, good-moral-character, English/civics, and other naturalization requirements.

What is the difference between standalone and regional-center EB-5?

A standalone investment generally relies on direct job creation by an operating business. A regional-center investment may pool investor capital and use qualifying direct and indirect job creation supported by an accepted methodology. The best fit depends on the investor’s goals, management role, project, documents, and risk tolerance.

Does a regional center’s approval history guarantee my EB-5 case?

No. Prior project-side filings may demonstrate experience, and an approved current-offering I-956F may resolve certain project determinations subject to statutory exceptions. USCIS still reviews investor-specific eligibility, and neither approval history nor current project approval guarantees financial performance or repayment.

Plan with context

Discuss your EB-5 strategy.

A consultation can clarify the legal questions to address before a project is selected or a petition is filed.

Contact the team
Information on this page is general, not legal or investment advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed until confirmed in a written engagement letter.