WA Law Group’s Founding Partner, Jinhee Wilde, has been voted as Top 25 EB-5 immigration lawyers for multiple years (voters include thousands of attorneys, immigration brokers/agents, project developers, and EB-5 investors). WA Law Group has successfully prepared and filed EB-5 petitions since our immigration law firm’s founding in 2006, and we’re proud to say that we’ve had an exceptional track record in filing I-526 and I-829 petitions over the years. Our Source of Fund (SOF) tracking is so complete that we’ve only received a small handful of Request for Evidence (FRE) letters in our more than nearly two decades of handling EB-5 cases.

One aspect of our immigration law firm that makes it unique is that no immigration lawyer in our office works on both sides of the EB-5 transactions – the business side and the investor side. The reason why we do not do this is to avoid any potential appearance of a conflict of interest.

Below, we’ll share more details about the EB-5 petition services we offer at WA Law Group and address some of the more commonly asked questions we receive regarding this immigrant investment program visa.

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EB-5 Visa Requirements

One of the primary obligations individuals looking to apply for this visa class must meet includes making direct investments in commercial industries and creating jobs for Americans.

The Minimum Investment Capital EB-5 Visa Applicants Must Make

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) description of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, visa petitioners must meet one of the two following requirements to apply for this visa, which went into effect on March 15, 2022, and will next be updated in 2027:

  • Capital investment requirement: EB-5 petitioners must make a minimum investment amount of $1,050,000 into a commercial enterprise to qualify for this visa class.
  • Targeted employment area (TEA) investment: An EB-5 visa applicant must be willing to make a direct investment of $800,000 or more into a rural area or one that has historically had high unemployment (150% or more of the federal unemployment rate). Investment capital can be paid into infrastructure projects.

Job Creation Requirements EB-5 Applications Are Subject To

The USCIS requires anyone looking to secure a visa as part of this immigrant investor program to create employment opportunities for Americans. The qualifying investment the alien investor makes must create 10 full-time, permanent U.S. jobs.

Other Requirements EB-5 Petitioners May Have and Scrutiny the Investor’s Petition May Be Subject To

It should be noted that, during the visa application process, USCIS procedures may involve the federal agency requesting that the investor demonstrates the lawful source of investment funds, i.e., whether his or her own or funds given to him or her as a gift from a lawful source. In the event the invested capital consists of loan proceeds, prospective immigrant investors may need to produce promissory notes showing proof of their intention or obligation to repay the loaned funds.

The investor need not be involved in the day-to-day management of the business as long as the investor is involved in a policy-making role of the business. The investor may invest in his or her own commercial enterprise or in a pre-approved “regional center.” Regional centers are geographical areas for which USCIS has determined that investments will create the necessary 10 jobs per investor in the geographical area. One of the benefits of investing in a regional center is that indirect job creation may also be counted toward satisfying the 10 requisite job-creation.

Foreign investors, including their spouses and unmarried children, under age 21, receive conditional permanent residency upon their application’s approval and completed investment. However, once two years pass, investors are eligible to become lawful permanent residents, provided they can demonstrate to USCIS that they’ve maintained an active investment in a commercial enterprise and created the requisite 10 jobs.

Need help with your EB-5 petition? Our firm has successfully prepared and filed large numbers of EB-5 petitions and is proud of our 100% approval record. Continue reading, where we discuss our law firm’s services that help you, no matter where you’re at in the EB-5 application process.

EB-5 Services Our Immigration Attorneys Offer at WA Law Group

The legal services our immigration law firm offers as part of this EB-5 program, also known as the employment-based fifth-preference visa, include:

  • Responding to questions regarding the EB-5 process
  • Advising on the Source of Fund documentation for an EB-5 investor eligibility
  • Gathering, assessing, and organizing information and documentation on the lawful source of funds and tracking of fund movement resulting in the EB-5 investment
  • Collecting, reviewing, analyzing, and presenting information and documentation about the regional center project
  • Preparing and filing the Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor
  • Filling in and submitting Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence of Adjust Status or the DS-230, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, applications on your behalf
  • Prepare and file the I-829 condition removal petition.

Preparing and filing an EB-5 petition with clear and substantial documentation has been the key to our law firm’s success. Each immigration attorney here also has the requisite experience to help the investor with the condition removal petition necessary to secure lawful permanent residence and, ultimately five years after entry into the United States, an application for United States citizenship through naturalization.

Please continue frequently asked questions about the EB-5 visa below, and feel free to reach out to our business and employment immigration law firm to schedule a consultation with one of our WA Law Group attorneys for further assistance with your unique situation.

Sample I-526 and I-829 Approval Notices (redacted)

EB-5 Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the procedure for an investor to qualify as an immigrant based on investment?

    Form I-526 must be filed with USCIS. The petition must be supported by a substantial amount of documentation showing proof of funds, verifies its lawful source, and affirms that the business venture would result in direct job creation. Once the petition is approved, the investor may either apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate or, if the investor is already in the United States, apply for an adjustment of status to permanent residence.

  • What is the minimum amount of investment required?

    As mentioned above, the EB-5 minimum investment amount is currently $1,050,000. The minimum investment amount in targeted employment areas (high unemployment areas),” is $800,000. Please note that investing in a Regional Center project does not automatically qualify you to invest only $800,000. Each Regional Center project must also prove that their project is located in TEA.

  • Does the investor need to have any specific relationship with the U.S. business in which the investment is made?

    The alien investor need not own any specific percentage of the business, be an officer of the business, or be an employee of the business. However, the investor must be engaged in the commercial enterprise, whether through actual day-to-day managerial control, by being a member of the board of directors, or by being a limited partner. Passive investment in real estate, for example, is not sufficient.

  • When must employment be created?

    Chapter 2 of the Eligibility Requirements for the EB-5 Visa spells out how the visa applicant must document in their petition how they will create the required 10 jobs within 2 years and 6 months following the I-526 petition approval.

  • Must the investment result in the creation of employment for U.S. workers?

    The EB-5 program is designed to be a job-creating investment program. The most important factor in EB-5 investment is not how much money the project will make, but how many jobs the project will create. The investment must create full-time, permanent employment for at least 10 U.S. workers. Jobs must last more than 2 years, but optimally until the removal of the condition is approved. The required 10 positions cannot include the investor or the investor’s spouse or children. For approved regional centers, the creation of employment could include indirect employment.

  • Is the immigration status granted to the investor valid indefinitely?

    The initial permanent resident status granted to the investor is a “conditional permanent resident status” that is valid for two years. The investor and family members are required to remove the condition by filing an application during the 90-day period prior to the expiration of this 2-year temporary green card and associated conditional residency. The petition will be required to demonstrate the continuation of the business, the investment of the requisite amount of capital, and the creation of the required number of jobs to move forward toward permanent residency and eventual U.S. citizenship.

  • Do all family members get conditional permanent residence status at the same time?

    The investor, his or her spouse, and unmarried children under 21 years can all obtain conditional residence at the same time and through a single investment.

  • Is the investor free to travel after obtaining conditional permanent resident status?

    The investor is free to travel in and out of the United States subject to the rules generally applicable to permanent residents. Specifically, the investor must maintain a residence in the United States and must not be outside the United States for a continuous period of more than 179 days, unless they have obtained a reentry permit. Even still, any absence from the U.S. lasting more than 2-years after the awarding of a re-entry permit could jeopardize an applicant’s continued participation in the immigrant investor program.

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  • What is the timing of this investment visa process?

    Currently, the I-526 petition adjudication by USCIS is taking 29 months or more. Once the petition is approved, the I-485 adjustment of status or DS-230 Immigrant Visa to actually obtain the conditional permanent residency generally takes around a year, depending upon whether the investor is in the U.S. or outside.

  • What documents must be filed with EB-5 petitions?

    Documentation filed with an EB-5 petition must:

    • • Prove the actual transfer or commitment of funds
    • • The lawful source of the investor’s funds
    • • The location of the investment in a targeted employment area (if the investment is less than $1,050,000)
    • • That the investment is in a new commercial enterprise
    • • That the investor will be involved in the business
    • • That the business venture will result in the actual creation of 10 full-time positions or proof of a comprehensive business plan showing the need for the 10 employees and the approximate dates when they will be hired

    Specific additional documents will be required depending on the details of the investor and the investment being made.

  • What documentation must be presented to prove that the investor’s funds came from a lawful source?

    Generally, the investor will need to present some combination of individual and/or business tax returns, employment records, documentation regarding the sale of or dividends from a business, documentation regarding gifts or inheritance, and documentation regarding securities or real estate transactions to show that their investment funds were lawfully acquired.

  • Could all of the invested funds be a gift?

    Yes. However, in that case, the person giving the gift must prove the lawful source of the gifted funds.