EB-5 Immigrant Investor Green Card

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program offers a direct path to U.S. lawful permanent residence for individuals and families willing to make a qualifying capital investment that creates American jobs. Following the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), the program now combines clearer investment thresholds, dedicated "set-aside" visa categories that can dramatically shorten waiting times for some applicants, and stricter integrity requirements for the projects that receive investor capital. For high-net-worth investors and their families, EB-5 remains one of the few green-card categories that does not require an employer sponsor, a job offer, or extraordinary professional credentials — only lawfully sourced capital, a qualifying enterprise, and ten new jobs.

This page provides general legal information about how the EB-5 category works — the investment amounts, the job-creation rule, the difference between direct and Regional Center investments, and the petitions involved (Forms I-526, I-526E, and I-829). It is not legal advice, and the right structure depends on your individual circumstances, source of funds, and goals. The most consequential decision in any EB-5 case is the underlying project; our role is to help you and your advisors evaluate immigration risk before you commit capital.

How much must an EB-5 investor invest?

The RIA set two investment tiers that apply to petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022. As of June 2026, those amounts are:

• $1,050,000 for a standard investment; or
• $800,000 if the capital is invested in a project located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) — defined as a rural area or an area of high unemployment — or in a qualifying infrastructure project.

A rural area is generally one outside a Metropolitan Statistical Area and outside any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more. A high-unemployment area is generally one with an unemployment rate of at least 150% of the national average. Under the RIA, the Department of Homeland Security — not state or local agencies — designates whether an area qualifies as a TEA. (USCIS — About the EB-5 Visa Classification)

Importantly, these figures are not permanent. The RIA directs USCIS to adjust the minimums for inflation (based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers) every five years, with the first adjustment scheduled to take effect for petitions filed on or after January 1, 2027. Because that re-indexing is imminent, you should always confirm the live amount on the official USCIS EB-5 page before committing funds.

The 10-job creation requirement

Capital alone is not enough. Each EB-5 investor's investment must create at least 10 full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers (U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other authorized immigrants — not the investor or their family). A "full-time" position generally means at least 35 hours per week. How those jobs are counted is one of the most important practical differences between the two investment routes:

• Direct investment in a new commercial enterprise that is not affiliated with a Regional Center: the enterprise (or its wholly owned subsidiaries) must itself directly employ the 10 qualifying workers.
• Regional Center investment: the enterprise may count both direct and indirect jobs created in the broader economy, using approved economic methodologies. This flexibility is why most passive investors choose the Regional Center route. (USCIS)

Direct investment vs. Regional Center

EB-5 investors generally pursue one of two structures. The choice affects how active you must be in the business, how jobs are counted, which petition you file, and your exposure to project-level risk.

Regional Centers are USCIS-designated entities that pool capital from multiple investors into larger projects. The RIA imposed substantial new integrity measures on them — including fund administration, audits, and contributions to an EB-5 Integrity Fund — precisely because the project, not the visa rules, is where most investor risk lives. Diligence on the project sponsor, the job-creation model, the capital structure, and the exit terms is essential, and is best coordinated among your immigration counsel, securities counsel, and financial advisors.

Set-aside visas: a faster path for some investors

Historically, EB-5 demand from certain countries created multi-year backlogs. The RIA changed that for a meaningful share of applicants by reserving a portion of the annual EB-5 visa supply for specific project types:

• 20% reserved for investors in rural areas;
• 10% reserved for investors in high-unemployment areas; and
• 2% reserved for infrastructure projects.

Because these reserved categories are newer and often less subscribed, investors in qualifying TEA projects — especially rural projects — may face significantly shorter waits than those in the unreserved category, even for nationals of historically backlogged countries. Visa availability still depends on the monthly Department of State Visa Bulletin, so current cut-off dates should be checked before relying on a particular timeline. (USCIS)

The EB-5 process: I-526/I-526E, the green card, and I-829

1. Invest and file the immigrant petition. After identifying a qualifying enterprise and investing (or being actively in the process of investing) the required capital, the investor files Form I-526 (direct) or Form I-526E (Regional Center). This petition must document the investment, the lawful source of funds, and the job-creation plan.
2. Obtain conditional permanent residence. Once the petition is approved and a visa is available, the investor and qualifying family members either apply for an immigrant visa abroad or, if already in the U.S. with a visa immediately available, file Form I-485 to adjust status. In some cases the I-485 may be filed concurrently with, or while, the I-526E is pending. This grants a two-year conditional green card. (USCIS — EB-5 Immigrant Investor Process)
3. Sustain the investment. Under the RIA, the capital is expected to remain invested for at least two years. (Pre-RIA investors were subject to different "sustainment" rules tied to the period of conditional residence.)
4. Remove conditions with Form I-829. The investor files Form I-829 within the 90-day window before the two-year anniversary of receiving conditional residence, showing that the capital was invested and sustained and that the required jobs were created (or will be within a reasonable time). Approval results in unconditional permanent residence for the investor and family. (USCIS — Form I-829)

A green card opens the door to eventual eligibility for U.S. citizenship, generally after five years of permanent residence, subject to all naturalization requirements.

EB-5 timelines and fees

EB-5 processing times vary widely based on the petition type, the investor's country of birth, visa availability, and USCIS workloads. Rural set-aside petitions are statutorily designated for priority processing, which can help. Government filing fees are also in flux: on November 14, 2025, USCIS published a revised fee schedule that returned the Form I-526 filing fee to its pre-April 2024 amount. Because both timelines and fees change, you should rely on the live USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) and current processing-time data rather than any figure quoted here. (USCIS — Form I-526)

How a premium immigration firm adds value in EB-5

EB-5 is document-intensive and unforgiving on two fronts: source-of-funds tracing and project selection. A complete, well-documented lawful path for every dollar invested — gifts, business income, property sales, loans — is frequently the difference between a smooth approval and a Request for Evidence or denial. And because the immigration outcome ultimately depends on the project actually creating the required jobs, evaluating the sponsor and the job-creation model is as much an immigration question as a financial one. De La Rosa Law works alongside your financial and tax advisors to assess immigration risk before you invest, prepare and document the petition, and guide your family through conditional residence and the eventual I-829. We serve investors nationwide and se habla español.

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