The core EB-5 visa requirements are an investment of $800,000 or $1,050,000 in a qualifying U.S. business, capital that is genuinely at risk and traceable to a lawful source, and the creation of at least 10 full-time jobs for American workers. Meet those, and you, your spouse, and any unmarried children under 21 can obtain conditional permanent residency, with a path to a permanent green card after roughly two years.
Everything below expands on what each of those requirements actually demands, plus the practical hurdles (backlogs, filing steps, sustainment, costs) that determine whether an investor can realistically finish the process.
How Much You Have to Invest
The standard minimum investment is $1,050,000. It drops to $800,000 if you invest in a targeted employment area (TEA) — either a rural location or a region with high unemployment — or in a qualifying infrastructure project.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas
Your capital must be genuinely “at risk.” There has to be a real possibility of both gain and loss. Anything that guarantees repayment, such as a buyback clause or a promised return, disqualifies the investment. The contribution does not have to be cash: equipment, inventory, and other tangible assets count, provided they are valued at fair market price in U.S. dollars.
What Counts as a Qualifying Business
The money must go into a “new commercial enterprise,” meaning any for-profit entity formed for ongoing lawful activity. That includes corporations, partnerships, LLCs, joint ventures, sole proprietorships, and holding companies with wholly owned subsidiaries. The business has to have been established after November 29, 1990, or be an older business that you restructured or expanded, producing at least a 40 percent increase in net worth or number of employees.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About the EB-5 Visa Classification
The 10-Job Requirement
Every EB-5 investment must create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers. Those workers can be citizens, permanent residents, or other immigrants with work authorization. You and your family members do not count.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas Each position must require at least 35 working hours per week. Two employees can share one full-time slot, but stitching unrelated part-time positions together to reach 35 hours does not qualify.3eCFR. 8 CFR 204.6 – Petitions for Employment Creation Immigrants
How those jobs are counted depends on your investment path.
Direct Investment
You put capital into a specific business and typically play an active management or policy-setting role. Only employees on that company’s own payroll count toward the 10-job requirement. More control, more personal involvement, and a much smaller pool of countable jobs.
Regional Center Investment
Regional centers are USCIS-designated entities that channel EB-5 capital into larger projects, often in real estate, manufacturing, or hospitality. Here you can count indirect jobs (created at suppliers and vendors) and induced jobs (created by employee spending in the local economy) alongside direct hires.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program An economist prepares a report projecting total job creation using accepted statistical models. Clearing the 10-job threshold this way is far easier, which is why regional center investments account for the large majority of EB-5 filings.
The tradeoff: you are one investor among many in a pooled project and you do not run it. If the regional center loses its USCIS designation before your petition is approved, the petition is automatically denied, and USCIS does not return your capital or guarantee you can recover it from the project. Due diligence on the center and the underlying deal matters as much as the immigration paperwork.
Proving Where the Money Came From
USCIS scrutinizes the origin and movement of every dollar you invest. This “source and path of funds” analysis is where more petitions fall apart than anywhere else.
The regulations require evidence such as foreign business registration records, personal and business tax returns filed within the past five years in any country, documentation identifying other capital sources, and certified copies of any civil or criminal judgments or pending government proceedings from the past 15 years.3eCFR. 8 CFR 204.6 – Petitions for Employment Creation Immigrants The regulation says “as applicable,” so not every category applies to every investor, but expect USCIS to want a comprehensive financial picture.
Different sources trigger different documentation. Property sale proceeds require sales contracts, deeds, closing statements, and proof of what you originally paid. Inherited funds require probate records or their equivalent. Gifted funds require both the transfer record and proof the donor acquired the money lawfully. The paper trail must be continuous, with no unexplained gaps between the original source and the capital’s arrival in the new commercial enterprise’s account.
Every foreign-language document needs certified English translation. Bank statements should cover a long enough period to show funds accumulating and then moving to the project. When money passes through currency exchangers or multiple accounts, each step needs documentation. Numbers on tax returns and bank records have to reconcile with your stated income.
Who Qualifies as a Family Beneficiary
An approved EB-5 petition covers the investor, their spouse, and unmarried children under 21. Children who marry or age out during the process can lose eligibility, which is a real risk given the timelines involved.
Visa Set-Asides and Country Backlogs
Meeting the requirements is one thing; actually getting a visa in a reasonable time is another. Total EB-5 visas each year equal 7.1 percent of the worldwide employment-based limit — roughly 10,000 including family members — and no single country can claim more than about 7 percent of that.5U.S. Department of State. Annual Limit Reached in the EB-5 Unreserved Category China, India, and Vietnam currently face the longest waits in the unreserved category. Indian investors who filed in 2022 may not receive unreserved visas until around 2030, and China continues to see multi-year delays.
The 2022 reform law carved out reserved visa categories with their own annual allocations:
- Rural areas: 20 percent of annual EB-5 visas
- High-unemployment areas: 10 percent
- Infrastructure projects: 2 percent
Unused reserved visas carry over one additional fiscal year, then roll into the general pool.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About the EB-5 Visa Classification Because reserved categories draw from separate pools, they generally face shorter or no backlog for most nationalities. Rural investments also qualify for USCIS priority processing. Infrastructure projects do not, despite having their own set-aside.
Filing the Petition
Direct investors file Form I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor). Regional center investors file Form I-526E.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor Both go to the designated USCIS lockbox with the filing fee and supporting evidence. A direct petition needs a comprehensive business plan; a regional center petition needs an economic impact report projecting job creation.
Filing fees have been revised more than once since 2022. Check the current Form G-1055 fee schedule on the USCIS site before filing, and pay each form’s fee separately. USCIS rejects packages with combined payments.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Process
If you are already in the United States on a valid visa and a visa number is immediately available, you can file Form I-485 to adjust status at the same time as your I-526 or I-526E, which also lets you apply for work authorization and advance parole while the petition is pending.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Process Investors abroad instead complete consular processing after petition approval, submitting Form DS-260, attending an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate, and completing a medical examination.8Consular Electronic Application Center. Consular Electronic Application Center
How Long It Takes
As of mid-2025, regional center I-526E petitions were averaging roughly 13 to 14 months. Standalone I-526 petitions took closer to 27 to 28 months. Rural TEA investments receive USCIS priority processing, which can shorten the review further. These figures cover petition processing only. After approval, consular processing or adjustment of status adds months more, and any country-based visa backlog can push the total timeline out by years. Plan for a multi-year process from first filing to permanent green card.
Conditional Residency and Removing Conditions
Approval does not end the requirements. When you first receive your green card through EB-5, you are a conditional permanent resident for two years. During that period the investment must stay in the business and remain at risk.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-5 Questions and Answers
The sustainment period runs at least two years from the date the full qualifying amount is placed at risk and made available to the job-creating entity.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-5 Questions and Answers If the project repays your capital before that clock runs out, the new commercial enterprise may need to redeploy those funds into another qualifying activity. Pulling money out early can jeopardize your immigration case.
To convert conditional status into permanent residency, you file Form I-829 during the 90-day window immediately before your conditional residence expires. Work backward from the expiration date on your green card.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status The I-829 must show that the investment was sustained, that the required jobs were created, and that the capital stayed at risk throughout.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Remove Conditions on Permanent Residence for Entrepreneurs (Investors) Missing the filing window is one of the most preventable and most damaging mistakes in the process.
Total Costs Beyond the Investment
The $800,000 or $1,050,000 is the headline figure. Real out-of-pocket costs run higher:
- USCIS filing fees for the I-526 or I-526E, the I-485 (or consular fees), biometrics, and later the I-829. Verify current amounts on the G-1055 schedule before each filing.
- Regional center administrative fees, typically ranging from $30,000 to $60,000, depending on the project.
- Attorney fees, commonly $40,000 to $75,000, because the source-of-funds work alone can take months.
- Translation and document-retrieval costs for foreign records, banks, and government agencies.
An investor in a TEA regional center project should expect total costs of roughly $900,000 to $1,000,000 or more once fees and professional services are added. A standard non-TEA project can exceed $1,200,000. None of these figures reflect the opportunity cost of having your capital tied up for at least two years with no guaranteed return.