File only after the sale has closed, the loan is drawn and the funds are transferred, and confirm which investment threshold applies on the actual filing date, since the statute schedules an adjustment from that January.
The filing date fixes the threshold and the evidence
The investor petition is decided on the facts at filing: the capital must already be invested or committed, and the threshold is the figure in effect that day. The Reform and Integrity Act set the current US$1,050,000 and US$800,000 amounts and provides for adjustment beginning January 1, 2027, so a petition filed in December and one filed in January may face different figures. If the sale closes in November and the mortgage funds are disbursed shortly after, the transfer to the U.S.
company and the assembly of the source documents may realistically finish in December or slip into the new year. Rather than rush an incomplete file to beat the date, confirm the adjusted amount in advance and, if the capital would fall short of it, arrange the additional funds before filing. After approval, immigrant-visa processing follows visa availability, and conditional residence begins on admission, from which the I-829 window is counted.
Hypothetical example: a forensic-accounting practice receives investor funds shortly before filing but has not yet executed the lease or hired its first employee. The filing date should reflect capital that is invested or actively moving into the enterprise under binding terms, not an intention to begin later. The first review should date every transfer and commitment, then calendar the later conditional-residence and I-829 window from actual admission.
A petition approval is not the start of residence.