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The section of the federal regulations that governs EB-5 eligibility, defining capital, the at-risk requirement, qualifying investment, and job creation. Adjudicators apply it directly when reviewing a petition.
An individual who meets U.S. securities thresholds, generally income above $200,000 a year, or net worth over $1 million excluding a primary residence. Most regional center offerings are sold only to accredited investors.
The process, filed on Form I-485, by which an investor already lawfully in the United States becomes a conditional permanent resident without leaving the country.
The USCIS body that hears appeals of denied petitions, including EB-5 cases, and issues both precedent and non-precedent decisions that guide adjudication.
Travel permission, requested on Form I-131, that lets an applicant with a pending adjustment of status leave and re-enter the United States without abandoning the application.
EB-5 receives about 7.1 percent of the worldwide employment-based visa supply, roughly 10,000 visas a year counting investors and their family members.
The rule that invested funds must be genuinely exposed to both loss and gain, with no guaranteed return or redemption, for the required period. A guaranteed buyback defeats this requirement.
The investor’s own lawfully sourced funds, and in limited cases other assets, contributed to the new commercial enterprise and placed at risk.
The layered financing of a project, from senior debt through mezzanine debt to equity. Where EB-5 money sits in the stack determines its repayment priority and its risk.
A law that can freeze or reduce a child’s age for immigration purposes so a derivative does not lose eligibility by turning 21 while the case is pending.
Submitting the I-526E petition and the I-485 adjustment application together, available when a visa number is current, which can yield work and travel authorization within months.
The status granted on initial EB-5 approval, valid for two years, before the investor files to remove conditions and become a full permanent resident.
The route for applicants outside the United States to obtain an immigrant visa through a U.S. consulate using Form DS-260, ending in admission as a conditional permanent resident.
A Visa Bulletin chart that signals when applicants may submit documents or adjustment applications, often earlier than the Final Action Date.
The agency that issues immigrant visas abroad and publishes the monthly Visa Bulletin that controls visa availability by category and country.
A spouse or unmarried child under 21 who receives a green card through the principal investor’s petition.
Actual employee positions at the job-creating entity. Direct investments must rely on these, while regional center projects may also count indirect and induced jobs.
The online immigrant visa application filed with the Department of State during consular processing.
The U.S. employment-based fifth-preference category that grants permanent residence to foreign nationals who invest the required capital in a job-creating American enterprise.
A fund created by the 2022 reforms, financed by annual regional center fees, that pays for USCIS audits, site visits, and fraud investigations.
The input-output models, such as RIMS II or IMPLAN, used to estimate the indirect and induced jobs that regional center projects rely on to meet the job requirement.
The work permit, requested on Form I-765, available to applicants with a pending adjustment of status, providing employer-independent work authorization.
A neutral third-party account that can hold investor funds until defined conditions, such as petition filing, are met before the money is released to the enterprise.
A project approval, now filed on Form I-956F, in which USCIS reviews a specific offering’s documents in advance so the approval is generally binding on later investor petitions in that offering.
The Visa Bulletin date that determines when a green card can actually be issued for a given category and country of chargeability.
The standalone, or direct, investor’s immigrant petition, used when an investor does not invest through a regional center.
The regional center investor’s immigrant petition, introduced by the 2022 reforms for investors in a sponsored offering.
The petition to remove conditions on residence, filed in the 90 days before the two-year conditional green card expires, proving the investment and jobs were sustained.
The application a business files to obtain USCIS designation as a regional center under the current framework.
The regional center’s project application, which must be filed and on record before any investor can file an I-526E based on that offering.
The regional center’s annual statement, which replaced the older Form I-924A and reports jobs, capital, and compliance to maintain designation.
The filing that documents the bona fides of people with authority over EB-5 capital, attesting to their background and compliance.
An independent party, often a CPA or a registered broker-dealer or adviser, that monitors the EB-5 account, an integrity safeguard added by the 2022 reforms.
The provision protecting petitions filed on or before September 30, 2026, so they continue under current rules even if the program lapses or minimums later increase.
A targeted employment area defined by census tracts with unemployment at least 150 percent of the national average. It qualifies for the $800,000 amount and a 10 percent visa set-aside.
The USCIS office in Washington, D.C., also called the Investor Program Office, that adjudicates EB-5 petitions and regional center applications.
Debt offered as capital, such as a promissory note. To count, it must be secured by the investor’s own assets and not by the assets of the enterprise.
Employment created in the supply chain and wider economy because of a project, countable in regional center cases through accepted economic models.
Employment created when the wages of direct and indirect workers are spent in the local economy, also countable for regional center projects.
A public works project administered by a governmental entity that qualifies for the $800,000 amount and a 2 percent visa set-aside.
Jobs projected beyond the ten-per-investor minimum, giving a margin so the requirement is comfortably met at the I-829 stage.
The business that actually deploys the invested capital to create jobs, often separate from the NCE that pools investor funds.
The requirement to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that all invested capital was earned or acquired legally.
India’s Reserve Bank framework allowing a resident to send up to USD 250,000 abroad per financial year, a key constraint for Indian nationals funding EB-5.
A significant change in the facts after filing. Because a petition must be approvable as filed, a material change can require a new petition rather than a correction.
A 1998 precedent decision that set the standard for a comprehensive and credible EB-5 business plan.
A 1998 precedent decision addressing the use of promissory notes as capital and the restructuring of existing businesses.
A 1998 precedent decision holding that guaranteed returns or redemptions defeat the at-risk requirement, and that a petition must be approvable when filed.
A 1998 precedent decision on documenting a clear source and path of funds, and on what does not qualify as a genuine restructuring of an existing business.
A common EB-5 structure in which pooled investor capital is lent to the developer in a layer between senior debt and equity.
A Census-defined urban region. A project outside any MSA, and outside a city or town of 20,000 or more, can qualify as rural.
The for-profit entity that receives the EB-5 investment and through which the investor participates, typically channeling capital to the job-creating entity.
A USCIS notice signaling a likely denial that gives the petitioner a chance to respond before a final decision.
A USCIS notice to a regional center signaling possible loss of designation, which can affect the investors tied to it.
The documented trail showing money moving from its lawful origin through each account and transfer into the project, required alongside the source of funds.
The rule limiting any single country of birth to roughly 7 percent of annual visas, which creates long backlogs for high-demand countries such as India and China.
A paid service that expedites some USCIS forms. It is not available for EB-5 petitions, which is why rural priority processing matters.
The EB-5 standard of proof, meaning a claim is more likely than not true. It applies to source of funds and other eligibility elements.
The date a petition is filed, which fixes the investor’s place in line for a visa number.
Faster USCIS adjudication granted to rural project petitions under the 2022 reforms. It is different from premium processing.
The securities disclosure document for an EB-5 offering, describing the investment, the risks, and the terms.
A full-time worker, generally at least 35 hours a week, who is a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or other work-authorized immigrant and counts toward the ten-job requirement.
Re-investing returned capital into a new at-risk use after the original project repays, used to keep funds at risk during long immigration timelines.
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, which reauthorized the regional center program, set the current investment amounts and set-asides, and added integrity measures.
A USCIS-designated entity that pools capital from multiple investors and may count indirect and induced jobs. It is the route most EB-5 investors use.
A securities exemption widely used for EB-5 offerings that permits general solicitation when sales are limited to verified accredited investors. It rests on the private-placement exemption in Section 4(a)(2).
A securities exemption for offers and sales made outside the United States, often used for foreign EB-5 investors.
The step, on Form I-829, that converts a two-year conditional green card into permanent residence by proving the program requirements were met.
A USCIS request for additional documentation when a petition is incomplete or unclear, most often triggered by source-of-funds gaps.
Visa numbers carved out by the 2022 reforms for rural (20 percent), high-unemployment (10 percent), and infrastructure (2 percent) projects, which carry priority and currently shorter waits.
When demand exceeds supply and a Visa Bulletin cutoff moves backward, lengthening waits or making a category temporarily unavailable.
China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, whose controls and annual per-person foreign-exchange quota constrain how Chinese nationals move EB-5 capital abroad.
The federal regulator of securities offerings, including the private placements through which most EB-5 investments are sold.
The documentation that establishes how an investor lawfully obtained the invested capital. It is the most heavily scrutinized part of a petition.
The contract by which an investor commits capital to an EB-5 offering and becomes a member or limited partner of the new commercial enterprise.
The minimum time capital must stay at risk, currently two years measured from when the full investment is made under USCIS’s post-reform interpretation.
A rural or high-unemployment area where the lower $800,000 investment applies. Investing in a TEA also opens access to a reserved visa set-aside.
The general pool of EB-5 visas not held in a set-aside, which remains backlogged for India and China.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that administers the EB-5 program and adjudicates its petitions and applications.
The Department of State’s monthly publication showing visa availability by category and country, including the EB-5 reserved and unreserved cutoff dates.
A federal court decision holding that the cash proceeds of a loan count as cash capital, which broadened the use of loans as a source when properly documented and the investor is personally liable.