United States EB-5 immigrant investor

Eligibility & suitability

Capital and jobs are both required

USCIS publishes a standard qualifying investment of USD 1,050,000, or USD 800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project, for the applicable post-March 2022 framework. The first inflation adjustment is scheduled for petitions filed from 1 January 2027: these figures must be rechecked for that filing date.

The enterprise generally must create at least ten qualifying full-time jobs. Direct and regional-centre cases have different job-counting rules. Owning a personal residence is not a qualifying commercial enterprise.

Assess investment risk independently

Capital must qualify under the immigration rules, including lawful ownership and source. A contractual guarantee of repayment can conflict with the required investment character. USCIS designation of a regional centre is not a government endorsement of a project’s investment quality.

Review the project’s capital structure, use of proceeds, job evidence, conflicts, security and exit assumptions. The funds may remain committed for commercial reasons beyond the immigration milestones.

The process has several stages

• Select the direct or regional-centre route and examine commercial and immigration eligibility.
• Document the lawful source and path of funds, investment and job-creation basis.
• File the applicable investor petition.
• When permitted and a visa is available, complete consular processing or adjustment of status.
• Receive conditional permanent residence if approved and admitted or adjusted.
• File the appropriate petition to remove conditions and substantiate the requirements.

Documents, costs and timing

Expect identity and family records, detailed financial and source-of-funds evidence, investment agreements, business or project materials, and the forms relevant to each stage. USCIS filing fees, visa or adjustment costs, professional charges and project fees sit above the investment capital. Current fees need checking because the agency has published litigation-related changes.

Petition processing and visa availability depend on category, chargeability and the file. A sales estimate is not a reliable overall immigration promise. Dependants, travel plans and work authorisation need their own timeline.

Permanent residence changes the tax picture

The green-card test can bring worldwide tax reporting. Review foreign companies, trusts, funds and estate arrangements before residence begins. EB-5 leads first to conditional residence; citizenship remains a later, separate process with residence and other requirements. We can help connect the pre-arrival planning with the agreed implementation work.

Investment capital is not an application fee

The current framework requires USD 1.05 million, reduced to USD 800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project. Government filing charges, regional-centre or project administration, legal work and due-diligence costs are additional. USCIS states that the investment thresholds first adjust for inflation on 1 January 2027, so a future funding plan needs a fresh threshold check.

The investment must be at risk and lawfully sourced. Neither immigration approval nor a project designation guarantees repayment, profitability or recovery of the principal. Review the subscription agreement, capital structure, conflicts, financial condition, exit mechanics and treatment of a denied petition before committing funds.

Jobs and project eligibility must be supported by evidence

The route requires the creation of at least ten qualifying full-time jobs. The evidence and permissible job methodology differ between a standalone enterprise and an eligible regional-centre project. A developer’s projection must be connected to the relevant immigration rules and actual project progress.

Source-of-funds work should trace how the investor earned, inherited, sold or received the capital and how it reached the investment. Where a gift, loan or business distribution is involved, the underlying transaction and relevant parties need supporting records. A bank statement showing the final balance alone is rarely the whole story.

Petition approval, visa availability and residence are separate

USCIS adjudication of the investor petition does not itself issue a green card. Availability under the relevant visa category and country chargeability must be checked in the Visa Bulletin. Consular immigrant-visa processing or a qualifying adjustment-of-status application then has its own forms, admissibility checks and timing.

The investor and eligible family members initially obtain conditional permanent residence. The I-829 petition to remove conditions must ordinarily be filed within the ninety-day window immediately before the second anniversary of obtaining that status. This deadline should be recorded at admission or adjustment, not reconstructed when the card is close to expiry.

The family’s future tax position belongs in the decision

Permanent residence can bring worldwide US income taxation and extensive foreign-asset reporting. Existing foreign companies, trusts, pooled investments and retirement plans require review before the residence event. A project return that looks attractive in isolation may be less attractive after the family’s broader tax consequences.

EB-5 suits a person who can accept investment risk and wishes to pursue US residence under the programme’s conditions. It is a poor fit for someone who needs guaranteed liquidity on a particular date or regards the green card as a cost-free second passport. Maintaining permanent residence and later naturalisation remain separate questions.