Permanent residency through qualifying U.S. investment.
The timeline differs based on whether the investor is already in the U.S. or applying from abroad.
Concurrent filing is only available when the Visa Bulletin Category is Current.
I-526/I-526E · I-485 · I-765 · I-131
Employment + travel authorization while petition is pending.
Receive 2-year conditional Green Card.
Permanent Green Card.
Receive 2-year conditional Green Card.
Permanent Green Card.
To obtain the EB-5 Visa, an immigrant investor must raise and invest either $800,000 or $1,050,000 USD for a two-year period with a Job Creating Entity that creates at least 10 American jobs.
Since 2022, under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA), USCIS increased the standard investment requirement from $500,000 to $1,050,000. However, USCIS also created reserved categories where the required investment is $800,000. These project categories are Rural (20% allocation), High Unemployment Area (10% allocation), and infrastructure (2% allocation). Most investors go for either Rural Projects (located in an area with a population less than 20,000) or High Unemployment Area Projects (located in an area where unemployment is at least 150% of the national average).
Investors can choose to invest as an individual and file an I-526, or invest with a regional center and file an I-526E. It's important for each investor to do their own due diligence on projects.
Regional Centers partner with developers to create projects and then gather investors. They pool the investor funds in a New Commercial Enterprise (NCE) and then transfer them to the Job Creating Entity. The JCE uses those funds, often in construction projects, to create the 10 jobs required by USCIS. Ideally, if the project is successful, the developer pays off the loan consisting of the investors' funds back to the Regional Center, which then pays back each investor. Many projects pay a return on investment once funds reach the JCE.
Source of Funds are often the most complex and scrutinized portion of the EB-5 process. That is why it's important to work with an experienced EB-5 attorney. When gathering funds, USCIS will need to be able to verify that they come from a legal source that can be properly traced.
Common qualifying sources of funds include:
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