What Are the EB-5 Investor Green Card Requirements?

The EB-5 requirements fit in one sentence: invest at least the statutory minimum in a new commercial enterprise, keep that capital at risk, show that the investment creates at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers, and prove that every dollar came from a lawful source. Meet those, and you, your spouse, and your unmarried children under 21 receive conditional green cards. Two years later you file to remove the conditions. Unlike the E-2, nationality does not matter, and unlike most employment-based categories, no employer has to sponsor you. Each element has details that trip people up, so here they are one at a time.

The EB-5 minimum investment requirement

The statute sets two figures: a standard minimum, and a lower minimum for investments in a targeted employment area. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 raised both amounts and built in periodic inflation adjustments, so confirm the current figures with USCIS before you commit funds rather than relying on an older article.

A targeted employment area is either a rural area or an area with unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average. A rural area is one outside a metropolitan statistical area and outside any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more. Under the 2022 law, USCIS decides whether a project location qualifies as a high-unemployment area. The law also reserves a share of EB-5 visa numbers for rural projects, high-unemployment projects, and infrastructure projects, which can matter a great deal for investors from countries with backlogs.

Our EB-5 investor green card page covers how we verify a project’s designation before you wire anything.

A new commercial enterprise

The money must go into a new commercial enterprise: a for-profit business formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business. “New” means established after November 29, 1990, or an older business that has been restructured or expanded in a qualifying way. Corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and sole proprietorships can all qualify.

You do not have to run the business day to day, but you must be engaged in management, either through day-to-day work or through policy formation. A limited partner with the rights the partnership agreement normally gives limited partners meets this test. That is why regional center investors can be passive in practice and still qualify.

Capital that is actually at risk

Capital includes cash, equipment, inventory, other tangible property, and debt secured by your own assets. A loan secured by the assets of the enterprise itself does not count.

The capital must be at risk of loss. That rules out guaranteed returns, fixed-price buyback rights, and redemption agreements that promise your money back on a schedule. It also must be placed into the enterprise, not merely parked in an account or promised for later. Finally, the investment must be kept in the enterprise for the period the law requires. Projects that return capital too early can put an investor’s case in jeopardy.

Ten full-time jobs for qualifying workers

The investment must create at least ten full-time positions, meaning at least 35 hours a week, for qualifying employees. Qualifying employees are U.S. citizens, green card holders, and other immigrants authorized to work. You, your spouse, and your children do not count, and neither do workers in temporary nonimmigrant status.

How jobs are counted depends on the structure. In a direct investment, only direct jobs count: W-2 employees of the enterprise or its wholly owned subsidiaries. In a regional center project, jobs can be counted indirectly through accepted economic models, including jobs at suppliers and jobs created by spending in the local economy. That difference is the main reason most investors use regional centers, as we explain in our comparison of regional center and direct EB-5 investment.

The jobs do not all have to exist when you file. They must be created, or be expected to be created within a reasonable time, and the evidence is tested again when you file to remove conditions.

A lawful source of funds

USCIS will trace the invested money from where it was earned to where it was spent. Salary, business profits, the sale of real estate or shares, gifts, and inheritances can all qualify, but each needs documentation. A gift needs proof of the donor’s own lawful source. A loan needs to be secured by your personal assets and documented as such.

The tracing is often the longest part of the preparation, especially when funds moved through several countries or currencies. Our post on documenting EB-5 source of funds walks through the evidence officers expect.

Is the EB-5 the right fit

The EB-5 makes sense when you want permanent residence, have the capital, and can tolerate the risk that the project underperforms. If you would rather run your own smaller business on a renewable visa and your country has a treaty, the E-2 may suit you better; our E-2 and EB-5 comparison lays out the tradeoffs, and our investor and treaty visa overview adds the E-1 and EB-1C.

If you are considering an EB-5 investment and want to confirm you meet each requirement before you commit capital, a consultation with Capitol Law Partners can review the project and your funds. Schedule a consultation.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by this communication.

Attorney Cagatay Ersoy. Practical strategy for founders, investors, and growing companies.

Need help with this topic? See our EB-5 green card services page or schedule a consultation.