EB-5 Investor Visa

Choosing the path and meeting the investment amount

EB-5 is the fifth employment-based immigrant preference under INA §203(b)(5) (8 U.S.C. §1153(b)(5)), and the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 reset the core numbers. An investor must place at least $1,050,000 of capital at risk in a new commercial enterprise, or $800,000 if the project sits in a targeted employment area (a rural area or one of high unemployment) or qualifies as an infrastructure project. The first decision is structural: a direct investment the family controls, or a passive investment through a USCIS-designated regional center. We walk through the trade-offs, confirm the enterprise and the amount qualify, and set the case up before any money moves. For the regional-center route and its separate compliance burden, see EB-5 Regional Center Compliance.

Documenting the lawful source of funds

The source-of-funds record is where most EB-5 petitions are won or lost. USCIS requires the investor to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the entire investment and the funds used to pay administrative fees came from a lawful source and reached the enterprise through a lawful path (8 CFR §204.6). For families from China, Taiwan, and elsewhere in Asia, that often means tracing capital across gifts, property sales, business earnings, and currency-transfer rules. We build the documentary chain (tax records, bank statements, sale contracts, corporate books) and present it in the narrative USCIS expects, so the petition does not stall on a request for evidence.

The I-526E petition and the jobs requirement

The case formally begins with Form I-526E, the immigrant petition for a regional-center investor, or Form I-526 for a direct, standalone investment. The petition must show the capital is invested or actively in the process of being invested and that it will create at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers. The Reform and Integrity Act also created set-aside visa categories, reserved for rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure projects, that can carry shorter waits for investors who qualify. We prepare the petition, assemble the business plan and job-creation evidence, and position the filing in the category that serves the family best.

Conditional residence: consular processing or adjustment

Once the petition is approved and a visa number is available, the investor and qualifying family members become conditional permanent residents for two years under INA §216A (8 U.S.C. §1186b). Investors abroad complete consular processing through a U.S. embassy with Form DS-260; those lawfully in the United States may file Form I-485 to adjust status, and the Reform and Integrity Act now allows eligible investors to file the I-526E and I-485 concurrently. Because China-born investors can face a visa backlog from per-country limits, we plan the timing around priority dates so children do not age out and the family is not caught waiting.

Removing conditions and the path to citizenship

Conditional residence is not the finish line. Within the 90 days before the two-year card expires, the investor files Form I-829 to remove the conditions, proving the capital stayed at risk for the required period and that the ten jobs were created or will be within a reasonable time. Approval converts the family to lawful permanent residents without the condition, which starts the clock toward naturalization. We track the I-829 deadline from the start, keep the investment and job evidence current throughout, and carry the case through to the permanent green card.