IN THIS GUIDE · Connect the investment amount to the qualifying U.S. case rather than the Canadian address
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Identify the actual qualifying basis
Current general capital is US$1,050,000 or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted-employment-area or infrastructure case. The applicant’s Canadian municipality does not determine that basis. Ask what supports the actual U.S. case rather than relying only on an advertised number.
Use the applicable petition-filing rules
Statutory adjustments begin January 1, 2027 under the applicable petition-filing-date rules. A transfer date or private reservation does not automatically establish the governing amount. Preserve the actual planned process and date uncertainty.
Retain capital, jobs and participation
Lawful source and path, capital at risk, management or policy participation and at least ten qualifying permanent full-time jobs per investor under the applicable framework remain necessary. A qualifying lower amount does not remove the other tests.
Keep status and financial outcomes separate
The investor, spouse, sons and daughters and nonimmigrant workers are excluded from qualifying worker counts. Immigrant-visa admission or adjustment approval begins conditional residence; I-829 generally belongs in the 90 days before its second anniversary. No investment amount guarantees repayment or removal of conditions.
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. For direct employment, a qualifying full-time position generally requires at least 35 hours weekly. Independent contractors, nonimmigrants, the investor, spouse and sons or daughters do not count as qualifying employees; the family exclusion is not limited to minor children.
Decide between a regional-center project and a direct investment
At least ten full-time positions for qualifying United States workers must be created, and the method of counting depends on the structure. Whether investing in a standalone enterprise or a regional-center project, confirm exactly how the specific project proposes to create the required qualifying jobs and what the methodology assumes. Job creation in regional-centre projects may be counted using economic models that include indirect jobs, but the ten-job requirement is per investor and depends on the project delivering. Where the property was held jointly, through a partnership or in an estate, each holder's entitlement has to be shown and the distribution to the investor traced. The methods permitted to evidence job creation differ between a standalone investment and an investment through a regional center, so the applicable method shapes what a delay means for your record. Where a regional center is involved, its designation is a government approval of the center, not an endorsement of the project or any promise about outcome. Note the date the capital was actually deployed into the business, because sustainment and job-creation questions are measured from real events rather than from the day a subscription agreement was signed. Compare the offering documents with the evidence needed later: job methodology, deployment terms, escrow release conditions, investor rights and exit language.
Verify the targeted-employment-area designation independently
A targeted employment area is a rural area or one of high unemployment, determined by criteria set out in the statute and applied to the location of the new commercial enterprise or, in the relevant circumstances, of the job-creating activity. The family should ask how many investors the project accepts and how many jobs the model projects, because the ratio determines whether there is a margin if construction runs slow or spending falls short. A promoter's assertion that a site is rural or high-unemployment is a claim to be verified against the current designation, not a fact established by the marketing deck.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.