Reconcile earnings with the savings record
Identify the relevant employers, pay records, deposits and transfers, and explain material differences between gross earnings and funds retained. Separate a promised bonus from money received. Establish each account holder’s rights and any agreement governing use of joint funds without assuming that every deposit belongs solely to the principal investor. Build a source-of-funds chronology beginning with the event that created each amount, then show taxes, account credits, transfers, and the investment document. A present balance cannot by itself answer why the investor owned the money or whether each step was lawful.
Establish the capital and qualifying jobs
Current general EB-5 thresholds are US$1,050,000 or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project; statutory adjustment begins January 1, 2027. Capital must be lawful, traceable and at risk in the qualifying arrangement, with at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor under the applicable rules. Direct and regional-center job evidence follows different methods. A sufficient bank balance is not the full investment case. Separate the capital contribution from administrative charges, financing terms, and projected return. The reader must decide whether the arrangement places the investor’s capital in a genuine position of gain and loss rather than treating a repayment expectation as an immigration safeguard.
Separate savings goals from the residence process
Investor-petition approval does not itself confer residence. The applicable immigrant-visa or adjustment process follows subject to eligibility and visa availability. EB-5 residence is initially conditional; Form I-829 is generally filed in the 90 days before the second anniversary of obtaining that status to seek removal of conditions. Track the actual residence date rather than calculating this window from the day the savings goal was reached. Plan the conditional-residence period as an evidence period, with payroll, business records, and capital records preserved as events occur. The later conditions-removal stage tests sustained investment and the job outcome; it is not an automatic consequence of the first filing.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.