IN THIS GUIDE · Identify qualifying workers rather than relying on a payroll total
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Separate worker categories
Hypothetical example: payroll includes different immigration categories and family members. Qualifying workers exclude the investor, spouse, sons and daughters and nonimmigrants. Do not treat a payment or job title as proof that the worker meets the definition.
Use the appropriate employment framework
Generally ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor are required under the applicable direct or regional-center method. Direct employment generally concerns positions requiring at least 35 hours weekly; separate part-time positions cannot simply be added together. Genuine job sharing needs a position-based assessment.
Preserve the capital and participation conditions
Current thresholds are US$1.05 million or US$800,000 for qualifying targeted-employment-area or infrastructure cases, with statutory adjustments beginning January 1, 2027 tied to petition filing. Lawful source and path, capital at risk and management or policy participation remain necessary.
Keep project employment and residence distinct
Existing payroll is not universally new job creation; a qualifying troubled-business preservation case has separate requirements. Conditional residence begins through immigrant admission or adjustment approval. I-829 generally falls in the 90 days before its second anniversary, and filing does not automatically remove conditions or repay capital.
Use the current capital, job and residence conditions
Contractual rights to repayment of the investor’s capital and guaranteed rates of return are excluded from qualifying capital. An enterprise’s option to buy back the interest solely at its own discretion has a statutory exception, subject to sustainment and the other governing conditions; it is not an investor repayment entitlement. Independent contractors cannot be treated as direct qualifying employees.
Decide between a regional-center project and a direct investment
In a project structure the investor is typically a limited partner or equivalent, relying on the project's own reporting and its economic methodology to establish the jobs. In a regional centre investment the count may include jobs calculated under an economic methodology, which is one of the principal practical differences between the two structures. A credible plan identifies the positions, their hours, when they are filled and how they are sustained, and distinguishes construction activity from ongoing operations. Reserved allocations exist for rural areas, high-unemployment targeted employment areas and infrastructure projects alongside the unreserved category, and visa availability can differ among them. Whether a specific project sits in a qualifying targeted employment area is a factual question about the project, and the designation should be checked rather than assumed from marketing material. Evaluate the project documents on their own terms: subscription provisions, risk disclosures, deployment mechanics, and the stated job-creation methodology. Where the investment is made directly in a new commercial enterprise, the jobs must be created by that enterprise; through a designated regional centre, methodologies for counting indirect jobs may apply, and the methodology is part of what should be examined before committing. The investor must decide whether the offering’s project location and supporting designation evidence match the reduced threshold claimed for the filing.
From petition to conditional residence to removal of conditions
Approval leads to conditional residence for two years, obtained by consular processing or adjustment of status, followed by the removal-of-conditions petition in the final ninety days. Under the 2022 legislation the standard investment amount is one million fifty thousand United States dollars, with eight hundred thousand for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project, and the statute provides for periodic adjustment. Indirect and induced jobs modelled by economists are available only to regional-center investors. Ask for the record that permits the job claim to be tested: budget assumptions, construction or operating timetable, payroll model, third-party agreements and the method used to count qualifying positions. The investor must participate through day-to-day managerial control or policy formulation; qualifying policy rights can meet that condition without daily operation.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.