Read the general immigrant investor briefing overview
Start with the person named in the proposal: an EB-5 project employee and a Gold Card sponsored employee serve entirely different purposes. A staffing spreadsheet cannot establish both immigration cases.
Check which positions support the EB-5 account
Hypothetical example: the payroll includes the investor’s spouse, an adult child and several nonimmigrants. Those workers are excluded, as is the investor; direct-employment contractors also do not count as qualifying employees. Apply the actual standalone or regional-center method to at least ten qualifying permanent full-time jobs per investor, rather than treating every name as a job created. The investor separately needs lawful source and path, committed capital at risk, and management or policy-formulation participation; qualifying limited-partner rights may satisfy participation.
Read the investment provisions before relying on capital
September 2026 amounts are US$1,050,000 ordinarily and US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure case. Statutory adjustments begin January 1, 2027 under filing-date rules. Contractual investor repayment rights and guaranteed rates of return are excluded from qualifying capital. An option allowing the enterprise alone to choose a buyback has a statutory exception. Exercising that option requires withdrawal of the petition unless the applicable sustainment and other requirements have been fulfilled; it is not an investor repayment entitlement. Neither the payroll nor an anticipated exit establishes residence: conditional residence starts at immigrant admission or adjustment approval, with I-829 generally filed in the 90 days before its second anniversary. Filing does not itself remove conditions or promise repayment.
Identify the person the corporate sponsor proposes
Gold Card begins with a nonrefundable US$15,000 processing fee per person; after successful vetting and official instructions, the gift is US$2 million per corporate-sponsored employee principal, or US$1 million for an individual principal. Corporate terms add 1% annual maintenance and a 5% transfer charge with a new background check. Conditional reuse of an earlier gift does not approve a replacement employee. The gift has no promised investment return. EB-1 or EB-2 eligibility, admissibility and visa availability remain independent conditions.
Distinguish relatives from additional sponsored staff
An eligible EB-5 derivative does not need a separate principal investment merely to accompany the investor. For Gold Card, each eligible joining spouse or unmarried child under 21 adds US$15,000 and a US$1 million gift, including corporate cases; initial inclusion is recommended. Identify whether a budget line concerns an employee principal or that person’s derivative before calculating the total. The company’s benefits definition does not expand eligible immigration relationships. A staffing change, paid gift or combined family invoice cannot guarantee status or a completion date.
What else is on your mind?
Does an EB-5 immigration review tell me whether an investment is good?Is the Gold Card another name for EB-5?Should I assume one Gold Card payment covers my family?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.