IN THIS GUIDE · Keep sales forecasts separate from the qualifying-job account
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Identify the job claim separately
Hypothetical example: a project forecasts increased sales and staffing. Distinguish projected revenue, positions and the actual qualifying-job method. A commercial growth percentage does not itself establish ten qualifying jobs per investor. Ask what the sales forecast assumes about hiring and whether the employment evidence supports those assumptions under the chosen framework. Increased orders might be handled by existing staff, contractors or newly created qualifying positions; those outcomes are not interchangeable. Have the project identify the relevant baseline and evidence rather than converting its revenue growth directly into a job total. Preserve uncertainty where the forecast is not yet supported. A strong commercial projection cannot replace the applicable qualifying-worker or job-creation assessment.
Apply the relevant employment framework
Use appropriate direct employment or permitted regional-center methodology and evidence. Qualifying workers exclude the investor, spouse, sons and daughters and nonimmigrants. Existing payroll is not universally new creation; troubled-business preservation has separate conditions.
Preserve capital and participation
Current amounts 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 forecasts and immigration stages distinct
Conditional residence begins through immigrant admission or adjustment approval, not a sales milestone or petition approval alone. I-829 generally falls in the 90 days before its second anniversary. Filing does not automatically remove conditions or return 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. 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.
Engagement in management or policy formulation is still required
A credible EB-5 offering should include a formal targeted employment area designation letter or equivalent supporting documentation tied to the specific project location and the underlying unemployment data or infrastructure approval relied upon. The enterprise must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying United States workers, meaning citizens, lawful permanent residents and certain other authorised immigrants, but not the investor or the investor's immediate family. The standard qualifying amount is 1,050,000 dollars, reduced to 800,000 dollars for a targeted employment area or an infrastructure project under the 2022 reform legislation; verify the current figures before committing. Alongside the money sits the requirement for at least ten qualifying full-time jobs, counted by methods that differ depending on whether the structure is standalone or regional-center. Engagement in management or policy formulation is still required and is commonly framed through the rights the investor holds under the partnership or operating agreement, so the governing documents deserve careful reading rather than a summary. Indirect jobs counted by economic models are a regional-centre concept and do not apply here. The investor should retain periodic statements, project reports and proof that the capital remains deployed as required through the sustainment period. Subscription documents, the limited partnership or operating agreement, bank instructions and the issuer’s accounting should identify the treatment consistently; a label on a marketing deck does not decide it.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.