EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 set the standard minimum investment at $1,050,000, reduced to $800,000 for investments in a targeted employment area, meaning a rural area or an area of high unemployment, and for infrastructure projects. These amounts are subject to periodic adjustment for inflation under the statute, so the figure that applies is the one in effect when your petition is filed. The capital must be your own lawful funds, placed at risk, and fully committed to the new commercial enterprise rather than held in escrow indefinitely. Documenting the lawful source of funds is typically the most document-intensive part of an EB-5 case. Our attorneys review the project and the source-of-funds trail before you wire anything.

Your investment must create or, in limited troubled-business situations, preserve at least ten full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers. Full-time means at least 35 hours per week, and qualifying workers exclude you, your spouse, and your children. In a direct investment, the jobs must generally be W-2 employees of the new commercial enterprise itself. In a regional center project, indirect and induced jobs established through reasonable economic methodologies can count, which is why many passive investors choose that route. Job creation is proven at the second stage, when you file to remove conditions on the green card. We build the evidentiary plan for that filing at the beginning, not two years later.

A direct EB-5 investment means you invest in and typically help manage your own business, retain control, and must document ten direct employees. A regional center investment means you place capital into a USCIS-designated pooled project, take a passive limited-partner role, and can count indirect job creation. Direct suits entrepreneurs who want to run a company and are prepared to carry the job-creation burden; regional center suits investors whose priority is the green card rather than operating a business, though it means relying on the project sponsor's competence and compliance. Regional center projects also have set-aside visa categories that can mean shorter waits. We conduct independent diligence rather than relying on the project's own marketing.

Possibly. The 2022 statute reserved a share of annual EB-5 visas for rural projects, high-unemployment area projects, and infrastructure projects. Because these reserved categories are newer and less subscribed, investors from countries with long backlogs in the unreserved category, notably China and India, have in many periods seen materially shorter waits by investing in a qualifying rural or high-unemployment project. Availability changes with demand and is published monthly in the Department of State Visa Bulletin, so it is not a permanent guarantee. Eligible applicants already lawfully in the United States may also be able to file to adjust status concurrently with the I-526E petition. We check current availability for your chargeability before recommending a project type.

Yes. One qualifying EB-5 investment covers you, your spouse, and your unmarried children under 21, each of whom receives conditional permanent residence and later, on approval of the petition to remove conditions, unrestricted permanent residence. Children who turn 21 during the process can age out, so age protection under the Child Status Protection Act and filing timing need to be managed deliberately, particularly for families from backlogged countries. Dependents can generally live, study, and work in the United States as conditional residents. We track each family member's age, status, and travel so that a technical issue does not undo a seven-figure investment.

EB-5 capital must be genuinely at risk, so there is no guaranteed return and no guaranteed immigration outcome. If a project underperforms but the investment remained at risk and the required jobs were created and sustained, the petition to remove conditions can still be approved. If the jobs never materialize, or the enterprise fails before the sustainment and job-creation requirements are met, eligibility can be lost, though redeployment of capital or, in some circumstances, a new filing may be options. This is precisely why project selection, escrow terms, and the offering documents deserve independent legal review. Our Los Angeles attorneys review the structure with your immigration outcome, not just the financial return, in mind.