How Much Do You Need to Invest for an EB-5 Visa?

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program offers a pathway to permanent residency in the United States for foreign investors. It is designed to stimulate the U.S. economy by encouraging capital investment and fostering job creation, providing an opportunity for individuals who meet specific investment and employment criteria.

Required Investment Capital

The EB-5 program mandates specific investment amounts, which vary based on the location of the commercial enterprise receiving the funds. Currently, the standard minimum investment required is $1,050,000 for projects not located in designated areas. However, a reduced minimum investment of $800,000 applies to projects situated within a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or an infrastructure project.

A Targeted Employment Area (TEA) is a region identified as rural or experiencing high unemployment. A rural area is outside a metropolitan statistical area or a city with a population of 20,000 or more. A high unemployment area must have an unemployment rate that is at least 150% of the national average. These designations aim to direct investment towards communities most in need of economic development and job growth.

The investment capital must be “at risk,” meaning it is genuinely committed to the commercial enterprise with no guarantees of return or redemption rights. This ensures the investment is not merely a loan or passive funding. Investors must demonstrate that their funds are subject to the potential for both gain and loss, reflecting a true entrepreneurial endeavor. For example, capital invested in exchange for a note or bond with a contractual right to repayment is generally not considered at risk.

The investment must be made in a new commercial enterprise, a for-profit business engaged in lawful commercial activity. Alternatively, the investment can be directed towards a troubled business, defined as an enterprise that has existed for at least two years and experienced a net loss of at least 20% of its net worth during the 12 to 24 months before the EB-5 investment. The capital can take various forms, including cash, equipment, inventory, other tangible property, or indebtedness secured by the investor’s assets.

The “at-risk” capital needs to be sustained within the new commercial enterprise for a specified period. The capital is expected to remain invested for no less than two years, ensuring the investment actively contributes to the business operations and job creation objectives of the program.

Establishing Lawful Source of Funds

An important component of the EB-5 application process involves demonstrating that all invested capital, including administrative fees, was obtained through lawful means. This requirement is scrutinized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to prevent money laundering, tax evasion, or other illicit activities. Investors must provide a clear “trace of funds” from their original source through any intermediary accounts to the commercial enterprise.

Common sources of funds include salaries, business profits, and the sale of property such as real estate, stocks, or other assets. For funds derived from employment, documentation typically includes tax returns for recent years, W-2s, pay stubs, employment contracts, and employer letters detailing compensation. These documents help establish a consistent and legitimate earnings history.

When funds originate from business profits, applicants generally need to provide business registration documents, audited financial statements, and bank statements showing the accumulation and transfer of earnings. For the sale of property, required documentation often includes property deeds, sale agreements, and bank statements reflecting the deposit of sale proceeds. It is also necessary to demonstrate the lawful acquisition of the property itself.

Other acceptable sources of funds include loans, gifts, and inheritances. If using a loan, investors must prove that the loan is not secured by the assets of the EB-5 project and that they are personally and primarily liable for its repayment. Documentation for gifts requires declarations of gift and proof of the gift giver’s lawful source of funds. For inheritances, wills, court documents, and bank records showing receipt of funds are typically required.

The documentation must trace the funds from their origin to the investment, demonstrating an unbroken chain of legality. USCIS may request tax returns or similar documents from previous years if inconsistencies appear. Failure to provide sufficient or credible source of funds documentation can lead to delays or denial of the EB-5 petition.

Associated Costs and Job Creation Impact

Beyond the principal investment, applicants for the EB-5 visa program incur various additional fees and costs. These include USCIS filing fees for several petitions throughout the process. The Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur has a filing fee of $11,160, plus an additional $1,000 Integrity Fund fee. Subsequent petitions, such as the Application to Adjust Status and the Petition to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, also carry fees of approximately $1,440 and $9,525, respectively.

Immigration attorney fees represent another significant cost, typically ranging from $20,000 to $35,000 for comprehensive services, including source of funds reports and petition filings. If investing through a regional center, an administrative fee, typically between $60,000 and $80,000, is also required to cover the costs of project management and investor recruitment. Other potential expenses include project due diligence fees, document translation fees ranging from $1,000 to $3,000, and travel expenses for interviews.

The primary objective of the EB-5 investment is to create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers. The investment capital directly facilitates this job creation, making it a key condition for the investor to gain permanent residency. A full-time position is defined as employment requiring a minimum of 35 working hours per week.

For direct investments, the new commercial enterprise must directly create these 10 full-time positions. Evidence such as payroll records and tax documents are necessary to prove job creation. In contrast, investments made through regional centers allow for the calculation of direct, indirect, and induced jobs, offering more flexibility in meeting the job creation threshold.

The job creation must occur within a timeframe, within two years of the investor becoming a conditional permanent resident. Meeting this requirement is important, as the investor must demonstrate its fulfillment when filing the Petition to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status. Projects typically incorporate a “job buffer” by planning to create more than 10 jobs per investor to reduce the risk of not meeting the minimum requirement.