An immigrant investor route requiring qualifying capital investment and at least 10 permanent full-time U.S. jobs. Mainland-born applicants must distinguish reserved set-asides from the heavily backlogged unreserved category.
Route overview
Investment, job creation, and conditional Green Card
Typical timeline / duration: Conditional residence for 2 years, then I-829 removes conditions
Important notes
Investment amount: $800,000 in a targeted employment area or qualifying infrastructure project, otherwise $1,050,000; verify the amount and project classification before filing.
Reserved categories: rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure projects have set-aside visa numbers; availability for mainland-born applicants must be checked in the current Visa Bulletin.
China-born queue: the unreserved category can have a long final-action-date backlog, so do not treat the ordinary category as immediately available.
File Form I-526E with evidence of the investment, the commercial enterprise, the job-creation plan, and the lawful source and path of funds.
After conditional residence, file Form I-829 during the required filing window and prove that the investment was sustained and the jobs were created or will be created within the permitted period.
A spouse and unmarried children under 21 may qualify as derivative applicants; each case must be checked against the age and filing rules.
The route can lead to a Green Card, but it is not a passive purchase: project risk, source-of-funds tracing, job creation, visa availability, and immigration filings all matter.
EB-5 is an immigrant pathway, not a temporary work visa.
Investment projects carry financial and immigration risk; USCIS approval does not guarantee a return or immediate visa issuance.