The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program may provide a route to lawful permanent residence for qualifying investors, their spouses and eligible unmarried children under 21. It is not a purchase of a green card. Eligibility depends on a qualifying at-risk investment, lawful source and path of funds, job creation and compliance with the applicable filing and visa-availability rules.
Investment immigration involves both immigration-law and financial risk. Approval, repayment of capital and any particular processing time cannot be guaranteed.
Overview
EB-5 is an employment-based immigrant classification administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A qualifying investor must invest the required capital in a new commercial enterprise and support the creation or preservation of at least 10 qualifying full-time U.S. jobs.
The generally applicable minimum investment is $1.05 million, or $800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project. These statutory amounts may be adjusted, so the amount and project classification must be verified against current USCIS rules before funds are committed or a petition is filed.
Direct investment and regional center investment
A direct EB-5 investment normally requires the investor to establish that the new commercial enterprise itself will create the required direct jobs. A regional center investment may rely on an approved economic methodology to count qualifying direct and indirect job creation.
Regional center designation does not mean that USCIS guarantees the project, the immigration result or repayment. Immigration due diligence and independent financial, securities and tax advice address different risks and should not be confused.
How the Process Works
The case begins with selecting a legally qualifying investment structure. The capital must be placed at risk for the purpose of generating a return, and the investor must document both the lawful source of the money and the path by which it reached the new commercial enterprise.
Common source-of-funds evidence may include tax returns, business and employment records, bank statements, sale agreements, inheritance documents, loan records and gift documentation. The required evidence depends on the actual history of the funds; unexplained transfers or missing links can create serious problems.
The business plan and supporting evidence must also address job creation. Direct-investment and regional-center cases use different job-creation methods, and the correct structure must be established before filing.
Filing the Petition
A standalone investor generally files Form I-526. A regional center investor generally files Form I-526E. The petition must connect the investor, the capital, the new commercial enterprise, the lawful source and path of funds, and the required job-creation plan.
After petition approval and when an immigrant visa is available, an applicant abroad normally proceeds through consular processing. An eligible applicant already in the United States may be able to apply for adjustment of status. Visa availability, admissibility and maintenance-of-status issues require case-specific analysis.
Government filing fees and processing information change. They should be checked on the current USCIS fee schedule and case-processing resources at the time of filing rather than treated as fixed figures.
Core evidence
- Ownership and formation records for the new commercial enterprise;
- evidence that the required capital was invested or is actively being invested;
- a complete lawful-source and path-of-funds record;
- a credible business plan or regional-center project documentation;
- evidence addressing the applicable job-creation method;
- documents concerning the investor and qualifying family members; and
- evidence addressing admissibility and any material immigration or legal history.
The precise evidence is case-specific. A filing should be built from the real transaction and documentary record rather than from a generic checklist.
Permanent Green Card
EB-5 residence is initially conditional. During the statutory filing period, the investor files Form I-829 to request removal of conditions. The filing must show, among other matters, that the required capital remained invested as required and that the applicable job-creation requirement was met or can be credited under the governing rules.
An I-829 filing may require business, financial, payroll, tax, project and job-creation records. Regional-center project failure, restructuring or delay can affect both immigration and financial analysis, but the consequences depend on the facts and applicable law. Conditional residents should verify the current documentary rules for employment, travel and proof of status while the petition is pending.
How Cohen and Brosh Law Offices can Help ?
Our U.S. immigration team evaluates whether the proposed investment structure fits the EB-5 requirements, identifies source-of-funds and path-of-funds issues, coordinates the immigration record with project and business documents, prepares the I-526 or I-526E petition, responds to USCIS requests when required, and assists with consular processing or adjustment of status and the later I-829 stage.
Legal review of an EB-5 petition is not investment advice and does not establish that a project is financially sound. Investors should use appropriately qualified independent financial, securities and tax professionals for those issues.
Every EB-5 case depends on its own facts, documentary record, visa availability and the law in effect at filing. Prior results do not guarantee a future outcome.