Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Distinguish staffing metrics from qualifying jobs
EB-5 generally requires at least ten qualifying permanent full-time jobs per investor, ordinarily at least 35 hours weekly. Part-time work cannot simply be pooled to meet the requirement; genuine job sharing is a different arrangement requiring its own analysis. The investor, spouse and children are excluded. Direct and regional-center methods differ, so explain the applicable evidence instead of imposing one payroll calculation on every structure. Begin with the offering materials and business plan, then match the employment method to payroll records, economic inputs, or other project evidence as applicable. The practical decision is whether a position is permanent, full time, and attributable in the required way, not whether a spreadsheet produces a convenient total. Keep hiring dates and job descriptions available. An investor should not assume that a contractor’s aggregate invoice establishes a qualifying job.
Retain the complete investor and residence case
Capital generally is US$1,050,000 or US$800,000 for qualifying TEA or infrastructure investment, with statutory adjustment from January 1, 2027 and actual filing-date review. Lawful source/path, risk, applicable sustainment and management or policy participation remain required. Use I-526 or I-526E according to the actual structure. Petition approval does not itself grant work permission or residence; applicable visa admission or adjustment needs availability and admissibility, and I-829 is filed in the 90 days before the second conditional-residence anniversary. Build the capital trail before characterizing funds as qualifying: source documents, transfers, any loan terms, the subscription or investment agreement, and evidence that the capital remains exposed to loss. Conditional permanent residence follows the approved process; the later I-829 stage requires its own evidence. Decide early whether timing, visa availability, and admissibility permit the intended move. A project update cannot by itself establish residence or permission to work.
Maintain the capital, employment and residence requirements
Put the question narrowly: is the reduced amount claimed on an infrastructure basis, on a targeted employment area basis, or not claimed at all? Each step needs its own document: the share-purchase agreement, the closing statement, the holding company's bank statement and resolution authorizing the distribution, the investor's personal statement receiving it, and the wire to the new commercial enterprise or its escrow. A project-wide headline does not show that your own petition has enough support, and the presence of other investors does not reduce your individual eligibility requirements. The record must show how the money moved out — as a dividend, a shareholder loan repayment, a salary or a capital distribution — and that the distribution was authorized, recorded in the corporate books and reported for tax. Match the investor’s contractual entitlement with the closing adjustments and the lawyer’s client ledger before describing the amount as personal sale proceeds. The investor must also be engaged in the enterprise beyond simply handing over money, through management or policy formulation, which a limited partnership structure can satisfy but which cannot simply be absent. Make a job-creation timetable that identifies the positions, hours, employer and evidence expected for each role. Conditional residence lasts two years, after which the investor petitions to remove conditions by proving the investment was sustained and the jobs were created.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.