Yes. A direct EB-5 investment in a new commercial enterprise the investor owns and manages is permitted, provided the applicable capital is at risk, ten full-time direct jobs for qualifying workers are created, the funds are lawfully sourced and the investor engages in management.
Owning the business solves engagement and sharpens the job test
Hypothetical example: the owner intends to hold the U.S. plant through a new U.S. corporation she owns entirely and to run it as president.
That satisfies engagement in management without difficulty. The capital must be the applicable amount, verified for the filing date, invested at risk in that corporation and spent or committed on the plant: building, equipment, inventory, payroll. The ten jobs must be direct W-2 employees working at least thirty-five hours a week, and the petition needs a credible business plan showing how the plant will employ that many within the permitted period, which for a modest fabrication operation means a realistic production and sales forecast rather than an optimistic one.
Her family qualifies as derivatives. The jobs must go to qualifying U.S. workers, which excludes the investor and her immediate family; her son working on the line would not count.
If the numbers only reach seven jobs, the case does not work at that scale.