Keep the family record consistent with the actual principal case while following the applicable document requirements.
Separate funding references and derivative relationships
Eligible spouses and unmarried children under 21 may have derivative cases, with applicable CSPA review. Their relationship and identity evidence is not replaced by naming a project, and immigrant-visa derivatives enter with or after the principal.
Treat the principal investment record and each derivative’s family record as connected but different evidence sets. The principal must identify the investment entity and document the qualifying capital, lawful source and path, ten full-time jobs, and the correct Form I-526E for a regional-center case or Form I-526 for a direct investment. A spouse and unmarried children under 21 may derive, subject to individual eligibility and age review; gather passports, civil-status records, and consistent case identifiers for each person. Their papers need not imply separate investment ownership. The common mistake is copying one project name across forms while leaving relationship dates or the principal’s legal entity inconsistent. Residence is conditional, and Form I-829 must be filed within the 90-day period immediately before the second anniversary of obtaining that status.
Hypothetical example: An electrical-equipment wholesaler in L’Anse-Saint-Jean invests directly in a U.S. clean-energy component plant and includes a spouse and university-age child. The family should confirm names, birth records, marriage evidence, passport details, and the child’s age timeline against the principal’s I-526 identifiers. Bank and enterprise documents remain in the principal funding file; derivative forms should refer to that case without inventing separate ownership. Planning should account for immigrant processing, conditional residence, and the family’s later I-829 stage.