IN THIS GUIDE · Trace the capital's origin through every entity it passed, and count the jobs before counting on the green card
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Lawful source and path are separate proofs
The source is where the money was earned: two decades of trucking revenue, tax returns, and the business valuation supporting the sale price. The path is every step from the buyer's payment to the escrow of the new commercial enterprise: the holding company's bank statements, the loan repayment entries, the dividend or salary resolutions that moved funds to personal names, and the wire to the United States. A gap in either chain is a request for evidence. Corporate proceeds that reach the investor through a shareholder-loan repayment need the original loan documented, not just its repayment.
Ten jobs, counted by the rules of the structure chosen
A direct investment counts employees of the new commercial enterprise itself — full-time, qualifying U.S. workers, created within the required period. A regional-center investment may count indirect and induced jobs shown through an economic model, which is easier to reach but places the investor in a project whose job model, capital stack and timing are controlled by others. Read the offering's job-creation methodology and ask how many investors share the same jobs; a project that has oversubscribed its job count is a risk to every investor in it.
Engagement, conditions and the two-year mark
The investor must be engaged in the enterprise through management or policy formulation; a limited partner with the rights the partnership agreement gives is treated as sufficiently engaged in a regional-center structure, while a direct investor is expected to be genuinely involved. Approval brings two years of conditional residence, and Form I-829 must then show the capital stayed invested and the jobs were created. Spouse and unmarried children under 21 are derivatives on the same petition.
Commercial risk is not an immigration question
The capital must be at risk, which means it can be lost. The immigration file does not assess whether the project is a good investment, and no approval protects the money. Independent financial due diligence on the project is a separate engagement from the immigration work. Separate immigration diligence from investment diligence. The first asks whether the capital, jobs, and participation meet the category's rules; the second asks whether the promoter, assumptions, and documents make commercial sense. A project can be eligible for filing yet still deserve a decision not to invest.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.