Can I keep my investment in an escrow account for a direct EB-5 investment project?

You can try but we seeing many requests for evidence on our direct cases issued after about two years and they generally want to see the money deployed and used for job creation.

Yes. Make sure the project still has enough funds to proceed however.

Keeping the money in the business account is preferred not in just any escrow account which has nothing to do with business in question. Also, the business account must be meticulously monitored and all expenses must be for the operation of the business. In essence, the account must be operated without co-mingling of the fund with any other venture or account.

More than five years ago, yes, regional centers kept funds in escrow accounts. That is no longer the case. The short answer is no. What kind of a real business could survive without access to essential funding for the duration of USCIS I-526 processing. No business could.

Yes, an escrow account can be used for your EB-5 investment in a direct project. You will need to make sure to structure the escrow terms so that they are compliant with the EB-5 Program.

Legally it is possible to use an escrow for a direct EB-5 project, but from a practical standpoint, your business will not be able to start operating unless there is some other capital available. Perhaps it could work if you had a partner who also invested capital or you obtained a loan of some kind so that your business can start operating or at least generate some activity. USCIS may want to see the business activity as part of the I-526 petition or in response to an RFE. If all of the capital is in escrow, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to provide evidence of such business activity.

I do not see why not. It should still satisfy in the process of investing.