Does the entire investment need to be made at the time of filing?

You must invest the funds or be in the process of investing the funds. The minimum capital that must be invested is $500,000, and it must be committed to the project before filing your I-526 petition.

If you invest through a regional center, the $500,000 is usually submitted to the regional center''s escrow account or the new commercial entity before the filing of I-526 petition. Even if you are applying through the traditional direct Eb-5 investment route, it is better to transfer the required capital amount of $1,000,000 or $500,000 (if business is in rural area or targeted employment area) to the new commercial entity before the filing of I-526 petition. As long as you can show that your investment amount will be spent on start-up capital, lease rents, inventory and employees salaries sustaining 10 employees within three years after the grant of conditional permanent resident status, your investment should satisfy the "at risk" requirement for your I-829 Removal of Condition petition filing.

That is a very good question. The EB-5 rules suggest that full funding is not needed at the time of filing the I-526 petition. However, in my 20 years of experience and generally since the 1999 changes created by the Matter of Izzumi decision, it is the unwritten practice of the USCIS to require full funding at the time of the I-526 application. That funding can be shown in two ways: (a) by the investor personally contributing the cash or qualified personal assets into the new commercial enterprise before filing, or (b) by having placed the personal investment into a credible escrow which makes the funds "irrevocably committed." The release of the escrow can be as late as visa issuance (or I-485 approval) but not later. Our law firm regularly assists investors in creating strategies for qualifying EB-5 investments.

The law requires that the investor has invested or is in the process of investing the required amount of capital. In practice, however, it is very difficult to get your I-526 petition approved unless you have invested the full amount or at least put the full amount at risk, for example, in an escrow account pending approval of the I-526 petition. Furthermore, your business plan must show how the invested capital will be used for job creation purposes. If it is clear that your business does not need the full $500,000, i.e., the full amount is not at risk and not going toward job creation purposes, then the I-526 will not be approved. You might need to wait until you can show the full investment, or you might need to consider an alternative to EB-5. You should consult with an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney on these matters.

No, but it is usually best to invest the full $500,000. You do not know what the future holds, so you don''t want to waste this effort by being unable to make the full investment.

Hello. The money can be invested over time. But, you must show that $500,000 will be invested and that the investment will be sustained as required. And, of course, you''ll have to show the 10 jobs will be created. Regaring the amount that needs to be invested to file, that is a facts and circumstance test but you will have to show that a plan is in place to invest the full $500,000 if in a TEA.

An experienced EB-5 attorney will be able to assist you in the planning of the commitment of the EB-5 funds. The EB-5 rules allow the investor to be in the process of investing and as a result the investor can file the I-526 petition while the funds are in escrow and will be committed to the new commercial enterprise when certain events occur, such as the approval of the I-526 petition or the approval of the conditional permanent residency.

USCIS prefers that the entire investment amount be invested/placed at risk before the initial application is filed with them.

We recommend the full amount be committed to the project before filing the I-526. The jobs do not need to be created until the I-829 is filed.

Please note that EB-5 program is for $1 million investment unless you business is located in Targeted Employment Area (with proven 150% higher than national average unemployment) or rural area of 20,000 or less population. So, you need to first demonstrate that you qualify for $500,000 investment exception. If you qualify, EB-5 rules state that you must either have invested or actively in the process of investing when you file the I-526 petition. You could show this by putting the entire investment now or have a promissory note to put the full investment within next 2 years.

EB-5 visa requires the $500,000 minimum if your project is in a financially distressed geographic area. Otherwise you need the $1,000,000 of investment. But we may be able to consider an E-2 visa for you (visa, not a green card) which may be convertible to an EB-5 green card over time. The E-2 visa does not require the $500,000 of investment and you can try it with a smaller amount and build on it over time. Of course you would have to meet all the guidelines and work very closely with a qualified EB-5 lawyer to evaluate and manage the legal aspects for you.

The full investment amount ($500,000 or $1 million depending on location) must be committed to the project before an investor''s I-526 petition may be filed. This does not mean that the funds have been spent, merely that that have been fully committed to the project at the time of filing.

Your investment at a minimum has to be $500,000. As such you need to have that money invested or in the process of investing at the I-526 stage.

You can invest the money over the two years, it need not all be invested at one time.

At the time of filing of the I-526 petition, the minimum requisite investment amount ($500K for TEA and $1mil for rest) must be invested.

An investor must have invested the funds or be in the process of investing. Please note that the entire amount must be placed "at risk" to qualify as well. Often, the entire amount is invested at one time.