Can You Get a Green Card by Opening a Business?

Yes, you can get a green card by opening a business in the United States, and there are three employment-based categories to consider. The EB-5 immigrant investor program takes a straight capital-for-residency approach with a minimum investment of $800,000 or $1,050,000. The EB-1C category is for executives and managers moving from a foreign company to a related U.S. entity, with no dollar threshold. The EB-2 National Interest Waiver lets founders self-petition based on their qualifications and the national importance of their venture, again with no set investment amount. Which one fits depends less on how much money you have than on your role, your credentials, and what kind of business you’re building.

The EB-5 Investor Route

EB-5 is the most direct trade of capital for permanent residency. You invest in a new U.S. commercial enterprise, that investment creates jobs, and you get a green card. The standard minimum investment for 2026 is $1,050,000. It drops to $800,000 if the business sits in a Targeted Employment Area. These thresholds are scheduled for their first inflation adjustment on January 1, 2027, so anyone investing in 2026 is working under the current numbers.

A Targeted Employment Area is either a rural location or a high-unemployment area. Rural means outside a metropolitan statistical area and outside any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more. High-unemployment means census tracts where the rate runs at least 150% of the national average.¹ The TEA designation cuts the required investment by nearly 25%, so it changes the math significantly.

Capital Has to Be At Risk

USCIS won’t count money that comes with a guaranteed return or a guaranteed right to a specific asset. There must be a real chance of loss and a real chance of gain. Parking funds in an account or signing a lease is not enough; the file must show actual business activity.² Any portion of your investment that carries a guaranteed return doesn’t count toward the minimum. This is where petitions frequently break down.

Ten Full-Time Jobs

The investment must create or preserve at least 10 full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers.³ Full-time means at least 35 hours per week. Those positions must go to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or other work-authorized workers. The investor and the investor’s family don’t count.

Direct Investment or a Regional Center

You can invest directly in your own business or pool capital through a USCIS-designated Regional Center. Direct investors file Form I-526 and must show that their business directly employs the required 10 workers. Regional Center investors file Form I-526E and can count indirect and induced jobs, meaning positions created in the surrounding economy rather than employees on the business payroll.⁴ The Regional Center path suits investors who want a passive role, though the capital commitment is the same.

The Two-Year Conditional Card

Approved EB-5 applicants receive a two-year conditional green card, not permanent residency outright. In the 90-day window before that card expires, you file Form I-829 to prove you maintained the investment and met the job creation requirements.⁵ Missing that window can put your residency at risk. The I-829 filing fee is $9,525.⁶

The EB-1C Route for Multinational Managers and Executives

EB-1C is not about the money you put in. It’s about the corporate relationship between a foreign company and a U.S. one, and your senior role in both. There is no dollar minimum.

The U.S. company and the foreign entity must have a qualifying relationship, typically parent-subsidiary, branch, or affiliate, based on common ownership and control rather than a contract like a franchise. The U.S. employer must have been in business for at least one year.⁷

You must have worked outside the U.S. for at least one of the three years before the petition, or before your most recent lawful nonimmigrant admission if you’re already working for the U.S. employer. Your foreign role and your U.S. role both have to be managerial or executive.⁷ Managerial means supervising professional staff or running a key function. Executive means directing the company and setting its goals and policies. Title alone won’t do it. The petition needs documentation of the corporate structure, ownership, and what you actually do in both roles. The U.S. employer files Form I-140 on your behalf.

The EB-2 National Interest Waiver for Founders

The EB-2 NIW is the most flexible of the three. No specific investment. No employer sponsor. No labor certification. You self-petition and argue that your venture serves the national interest of the United States.

You still have to meet a baseline: either an advanced degree (a U.S. master’s or higher, or foreign equivalent, or a bachelor’s plus at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty) or exceptional ability, shown through at least three types of evidence such as academic credentials, professional certifications, publications, or high compensation in the field.⁸

Beyond that, you have to satisfy the three-part test from Matter of Dhanasar. Your proposed endeavor must have substantial merit and national importance; ventures in technology, healthcare, and clean energy tend to fit well. You must be well positioned to advance it, based on your background and a realistic plan. And on balance, it must benefit the United States to waive the standard job offer and labor certification requirements.⁹ That third prong is where your contribution has to outweigh the general interest in protecting U.S. workers through the normal hiring process.

Startup founders like NIW because they control the petition without depending on an employer. The tradeoff is that the entire evidentiary burden falls on them.

The E-2 Visa Is Not a Green Card

People researching business immigration often land on the E-2 treaty investor visa first, so it’s worth being clear about what it is. The E-2 lets nationals of treaty countries live and work in the U.S. after making a “substantial” investment in a U.S. business. There’s no fixed minimum; the amount must be substantial relative to the total cost of the business.¹⁰

The E-2 is a nonimmigrant visa. It renews in two-year increments with no cap on extensions, but you have to maintain an intent to leave when your status ends. It does not lead directly to a green card, and there’s no built-in transition to permanent residency.¹⁰ Some E-2 holders later pursue EB-5, EB-1C, or EB-2 NIW, but the E-2 itself is a separate, temporary status. If a green card is the goal from the start, treat the E-2 as a detour rather than a shortcut.

How Long the Wait Is

Every employment-based green card category has annual numerical limits and per-country caps. EB-5 has roughly 10,000 visas per year, and no single country can receive more than about 7% of that allocation. Applicants from high-demand countries like China, India, and Vietnam face backlogs that can stretch for years.

EB-1, which includes EB-1C, is current for most countries but backlogged for people born in mainland China or India. As of the January 2026 visa bulletin, the EB-1 final action date for China and India was February 1, 2023, meaning only applicants whose petitions were filed before that date could get their green cards that month.¹¹ These dates move monthly, sometimes forward and sometimes backward.

The practical effect: even after USCIS approves your petition, you may wait months or years for a visa number. The State Department’s monthly visa bulletin shows where your category and country of birth stand. For EB-5, the Reform and Integrity Act created set-aside categories for rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure projects, and those can move faster than the general EB-5 pool.

What Happens With Your Family

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can get green cards as derivative beneficiaries on your petition. They don’t need their own investment or employer; their eligibility comes from yours. Include them on the initial petition, whether that’s Form I-140 for EB-1C and EB-2 NIW or Form I-526 or I-526E for EB-5.

The main risk is a child aging out. If a child turns 21 during a pending petition or a visa backlog, they can lose eligibility. The Child Status Protection Act subtracts the time the petition was pending from the child’s age on the date a visa becomes available. If that adjusted age is under 21, the child stays eligible, but they must take a step to seek to acquire status, such as filing Form I-485, within one year of the visa first becoming available. Missing that one-year window can disqualify a child even when the age math otherwise works out.

Filing and Final Steps

The form you file depends on the category. EB-5 Regional Center investors file Form I-526E. Direct EB-5 investors file Form I-526. EB-1C and EB-2 NIW applicants file Form I-140.¹² Each petition needs supporting evidence: business plans, source-of-funds documentation, corporate records, or evidence of qualifications, depending on the route. Premium processing is available for Form I-140 petitions and expedites the initial adjudication for a fee of $2,965 as of March 2026.

Once USCIS approves the petition and a visa number is available, you take the last step. If you’re already in the U.S. in a valid status, you file Form I-485 to adjust to permanent resident without leaving the country.¹³ When a visa number is immediately available, you can sometimes file the I-485 alongside the initial petition, known as concurrent filing.¹⁴ If you’re abroad, you go through consular processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

Business Plan and Source of Funds

A detailed business plan sits at the center of most business-based petitions, especially EB-5 and EB-2 NIW. It should cover objectives, target market, financial projections, organizational structure, and a staffing plan that shows how any job creation requirements will be met. USCIS wants a credible, specific document, not a promotional brochure. Vague projections or unrealistic revenue assumptions can sink the whole petition.

EB-5 petitions also demand proof that the investment capital came from lawful sources. Every dollar needs a documented trail back to a legitimate origin: tax returns, bank statements, property sale records, business income, loan agreements. USCIS traces the money and flags gaps. This is often the most document-heavy part of the process, especially when funds come from multiple sources or from countries with different record-keeping norms.

The business itself has to be a real, active, for-profit commercial enterprise. You show that through articles of incorporation, operating agreements, business licenses, and evidence of actual commercial activity. A shell company won’t qualify.

U.S. Tax Obligations Start Right Away

A green card triggers U.S. tax obligations that many new residents don’t expect. As a lawful permanent resident, you generally have to file a U.S. income tax return and report your worldwide income, no matter where you live or where the income comes from.¹⁵ That covers salary, business profits, rental income, interest, and capital gains from anywhere in the world.

Foreign accounts and assets bring additional reporting. You must file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FinCEN Form 114) if the combined value of your foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year. The deadline is April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15. Separately, FATCA requires you to report specified foreign financial assets on IRS Form 8938 if they exceed $50,000 on the last day of the tax year, or $75,000 at any point during the year, for single filers living in the United States. Thresholds are higher for joint filers and for filers living abroad.

Penalties for missing these filings are steep, up to $10,000 per violation for FBAR and similar amounts for FATCA, even when no additional tax is owed. Many immigrant investors and entrepreneurs come from countries with no comparable reporting regime, so the obligation catches them off guard. Getting compliant from day one costs far less than fixing the problem later.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About the EB-5 Visa Classification
2
USCIS Policy Manual. USCIS Policy Manual – Volume 6 – Part G – Chapter 2
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Remove Conditions on Permanent Residence for Entrepreneurs
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1 – Section: Certain Multinational Manager or Executive
8
USCIS Policy Manual. USCIS Policy Manual – Volume 6 – Part F – Chapter 5
9
Department of Justice. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016)
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. E-2 Treaty Investors
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U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for January 2026
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
15
Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About International Individual Tax Matters