Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Count qualifying jobs rather than only hours
Each investor generally needs at least ten qualifying permanent full-time jobs. Full-time normally means at least 35 hours weekly, and investor, spouse and children are excluded as qualifying workers. Extra hours do not automatically create an additional qualifying position, and part-time jobs cannot simply be pooled into full-time equivalents. Direct and regional-center cases use different permitted job methods; explain what the actual analysis counts. Test every proposed position for permanence, full-time hours, and whether the worker is qualifying, then preserve the underlying records. The choice of job methodology changes what the evidence must establish; it cannot be selected after a shortfall appears. A first review can also identify whether hiring dates leave enough time to satisfy the applicable job-creation requirements.
Keep the capital and residence requirements intact
As of September 7, 2026, general capital is US$1,050,000 or US$800,000 for qualifying TEA or infrastructure cases, with statutory adjustment from January 1, 2027 and actual filing-date review. Lawful source and path, risk and applicable sustainment and management or policy participation remain required, including qualifying limited-partner rights where applicable. Petition approval is not residence or employment permission. Availability and admissibility apply to the visa admission or adjustment step; I-829 is filed in the 90 days before the second conditional-residence anniversary. Capital must remain at risk through the required period, and conditional permanent residence is not the end of the analysis. Plan the record needed for removal of conditions from the beginning: source documents, transfer records, business activity, job evidence, and the relevant sustainment proof. A repayment promise, guaranteed return, or undocumented redeployment can create issues even after petition approval.
Standalone counting differs from a regional center
Review how the capital will be deployed, the contractual terms, fees and project risks, with independent financial advice as appropriate. How jobs may be demonstrated differs between standalone investments and eligible regional-center structures. In either structure the investor must engage in management or policy formulation; EB-5 does not invariably require hands-on day-to-day involvement where qualifying policy rights suffice. Full-time means at least thirty-five hours a week; job-sharing arrangements can qualify where the statute permits, but simply adding several part-time roles together does not. A regional centre designation is not an endorsement of a project, nor an approval of its classification. The documents that matter are the private placement memorandum, the subscription agreement, the escrow agreement, the job-creation methodology and the regional center's designation and compliance status. Read the distribution and redemption provisions with counsel rather than relying on a summary in marketing material, since a right that looks like a guaranteed exit can be the very term that puts the at-risk requirement in question. Sequence the review before subscription, because a missing source document or job-model assumption may affect whether the investor proceeds, renegotiates, or declines the offering.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.