Invest in a U.S. business, create jobs, and earn a green card for yourself and your family.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program provides a direct path to U.S. permanent residency for foreign nationals who make a qualifying investment in a U.S. commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time jobs. Reauthorized and reformed by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, the program remains one of the few ways to obtain a green card through capital investment alone.
The EB-5 program was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. Investors who meet the program's requirements receive conditional permanent residency (a 2-year green card), which can be converted to unconditional permanent residency after demonstrating that the investment was sustained and the job creation requirement was met.
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 set the following investment thresholds:
The investment amounts are subject to adjustment for inflation every 5 years. The funds must come from lawful sources, and investors must provide detailed documentation tracing the origin of their capital.
Each EB-5 investor must create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers. For direct investments, these must be direct employees of the business. For Regional Center investments, indirect and induced jobs (calculated through economic modeling) also count toward the requirement.
Investors can choose between two approaches:
The EB-5 process typically takes 2 to 5 years from initial investment to unconditional green card. Key steps include filing Form I-526E, receiving conditional residency, investing and creating jobs over 2 years, and filing Form I-829 to remove conditions. Processing times vary significantly — I-526E processing alone can take 12 to 36 months depending on USCIS workload and the investor's country of birth.
The 2022 reform created set-aside visa categories that provide faster processing for certain investments: 20% for rural TEA projects, 10% for high-unemployment TEA projects, and 2% for infrastructure projects. Rural TEA projects in particular have seen significantly shorter wait times and are increasingly popular with investors from countries with long backlogs like India and China.
The EB-5 is a significant financial commitment with real risk. Investors can lose their capital if the business fails, and immigration approval is not guaranteed even if the investment is made. Regional Center fraud has been a documented issue — investors should conduct thorough due diligence and work with experienced EB-5 attorneys and financial advisors before committing funds.
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Search H-1B Sponsors on Wisa →The minimum investment is $800,000 for Targeted Employment Area (TEA) projects or $1,050,000 for standard investments. Additional costs include legal fees ($15,000-$50,000), USCIS filing fees, and Regional Center administrative fees if applicable.
The total process typically takes 2 to 5 years. I-526E petition processing takes 12 to 36 months, followed by 2 years of conditional residency before filing I-829 to remove conditions. Rural TEA set-aside projects may process faster.
The investment must remain at risk throughout the conditional residency period (approximately 2 years). After conditions are removed and the green card is finalized, investors in Regional Center projects may receive a return of capital depending on the project terms. Direct investors can sell the business.
There is no lottery, but EB-5 visas are subject to per-country limits of 7% of the annual allocation. This has created multi-year backlogs for investors from India and China. The 2022 reform's set-aside categories help reduce wait times for qualifying projects.