IN THIS GUIDE · Explain a family-funded investment without losing the source-of-funds history
Identify capital that meets the investment requirements
EB-5 requires qualifying capital to be placed at risk, alongside the applicable investment and job-creation requirements. An administrative charge or other payment connected with immigration is not automatically investment capital. Assess the actual agreement and funding arrangement rather than equating every dollar transferred with a qualifying investment or treating a promotional return as guaranteed. Identify the capital amount, the project method, the expected allocation of jobs, and the investor's management or policy rights before calling a proposal suitable.
Describe the arrangement as it really is
Distinguish a gift from a loan or shared investment. Bring its genuine terms for review. Do not call repayable money a gift because that seems simpler, or omit conditions that affect the applicant's ownership and use of the funds. Use the real gift deed, loan terms, or investment agreement, then trace the underlying money. A family narrative cannot replace records from the person who generated funds.
Request records from the people who hold them
Identify the donor or lender's relevant funding records and the actual transfer evidence. Ask what the review requires before sending a broad collection of unrelated financial material. Missing information should remain an explicit request rather than be replaced with an unsupported explanation. Request only records that establish a link in the chain: acquisition, income, sale, tax, transfer, or gift. A focused chronology is safer than an unexplained archive.
Keep the project assessment separate
A complete family funding history does not establish job creation or the project's other requirements. Organize provider materials separately and obtain the appropriate independent assessment. Likewise, a compelling project does not explain the lawful source of the investor's money. Review the project independently for its job model, offering documents, and risk disclosures. The investor's funding proof does not establish the project's compliance.
Plan for a process, not a payment date
Include family eligibility, immigration stages and later obligations in the discussion. Record the questions that could affect timing before committing to relocation. A completed transfer is not, by itself, permission to live or work in the United States. Set decision dates for capital commitment, petition preparation, visa availability, and the conditional-residence stage. Relocation plans should remain contingent until the applicable process permits travel.
Apply the capital, job and residence rules
As checked September 7, 2026, the standard capital minimum is US$1,050,000, reduced to US$800,000 for qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure projects. Statutory adjustments begin January 1, 2027; confirm the amount for the filing. The investment must support at least ten qualifying full-time jobs, with direct and regional-center methods assessed under their applicable rules. An initial investor petition does not itself grant residence: the applicable immigrant-visa or adjustment process follows. Conditional residence is followed by removal of conditions, with Form I-829 generally filed during the 90 days before its second anniversary. Separate qualifying capital from administrative, professional, and immigration costs. Payments outside the enterprise generally do not buy the required job creation.
Participation and each investor’s job requirement
The investor must engage in management or policy formulation; qualifying limited-partner rights can satisfy the applicable participation rule, so daily operation is not universally required. Establish at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor using the applicable direct-investment or regional-centre framework. A project label does not itself prove that your capital, participation rights or allocated jobs meet those requirements. Ask who will exercise the investor's policy or management rights and how job evidence will be preserved through the conditional period. Those duties continue after the first filing.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.