IN THIS GUIDE · Trace funds and job-creation claims independently of a project's local sales pitch
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Request the offering documents directly, not a summary handout
Hypothetical example: a Selkirk investor learns about an EB-5 regional center project through a community presentation organized by a local promoter. Request the actual offering memorandum, subscription agreement, and job-creation methodology rather than relying on the summary slides shown at the event.
Build the funding record independent of the promoter's materials
Trace the investor's own funds from their lawful source, using personal financial and transaction records, rather than relying on a template funding narrative the promoter may provide to multiple investors. Each investor's funding history is individual and must be documented on its own facts.
Review job-creation assumptions with independent scrutiny
Ask how the specific project supports at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor under the applicable standalone or regional-center method, without duplicate allocations. Existing payroll is not automatically new job creation; a troubled-business claim needs its own assessment. For direct jobs, review eligible workers and full-time employment rather than counting contractors, nonimmigrants or the investor and their spouse or sons and daughters. A presentation cannot replace the actual methodology and supporting evidence.
Get independent financial advice before committing funds locally introduced
Review the actual offering, risks and lawful at-risk capital independently from the promoter’s explanation. Current minima are US$1,050,000 or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure investment; statutory adjustments begin January 1, 2027, and the petition filing date determines the applicable amount. Assess management or policy-formulation participation, including qualifying limited-partner rights. Capital subject to an investor’s contractual repayment right or a guaranteed rate of return is excluded from qualifying investment. A narrow exception permits a buyback option exercisable solely at the enterprise’s discretion; exercising it requires withdrawal of the petition unless the applicable sustainment and other requirements have been fulfilled.
From petition to conditional residence to removal of conditions
The investment must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying employees per investor, and full-time here means a minimum of thirty-five hours a week. The standard qualifying investment is one million fifty thousand dollars, reduced to eight hundred thousand for an investment in a targeted employment area or an infrastructure project, under the framework set by the 2022 Reform and Integrity Act. Approval of the investor petition is followed by an immigrant visa or adjustment of status, giving two years of conditional residence; Form I-829 to remove conditions is generally filed in the ninety days before that period ends. Indirect and induced jobs modelled by economists are available only to regional-center investors. The reduced figure depends on the project's own qualifying circumstances, not on the investor's preference, and meeting a dollar threshold alone does not establish eligibility. Within the ninety days before the second anniversary, the investor files Form I-829 to remove conditions, showing that the capital remained invested and at risk and that the required jobs were created or will be created within a reasonable time. A regional center's designation is not a government guarantee of any project's performance or of an immigration outcome. Build a family timeline that has separate columns for the petition, visa availability, consular or adjustment stage, conditional residence, and later condition removal.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.