How can a restaurant qualify as an EB-5 project?

To qualify as an EB-5 project, your restaurant must meet specific requirements, and one of the most important, job creation, isn’t clear from your facts. Crucially, the investment must directly create at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers, excluding the investor and their immediate family. If the restaurant already has 10+ workers, you may qualify by sustaining those jobs for at least two years if the business is a troubled business. Otherwise, the investment must generate these jobs as part of your plan. The investment funds, including any mortgage proceeds, must be at risk for business purposes, not simply for purchasing the building.

Would need more information to advise. You may set up a consultation with us to go over the details. There are different rules for buying an existing business in terms of employee creation.

Yes a restaurant is an excellent EB 5 vehicle. Keep in mind that you will need to create 10 new jobs.

You can be eligible for EB-5 as a direct investment (as opposed to investing in a Regional Center). To qualify a restaurant as an EB-5 direct investment project under the Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), you must:
Invest minimum, which is now $1.05 million, and for projects in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), the minimum is $800,000. Your investment of $1.5 million would meet the requirement regardless of the TEA status. Demonstrate that the investment capital was obtained lawfully. Create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers (you can't compute indirect or induced jobs, as regional centers can). These jobs must be maintained for at least two years. Running the restaurant with over ten
employees would meet this requirement, provided the jobs are full-time and meet USCIS definitions.
Qualify as a new commercial enterprise. This can be achieved by creating a new business, purchasing and restructuring an existing business, or expanding an existing business. If buying an existing restaurant, demonstrate significant restructuring or expansion to qualify.
You must be involved in the management of the business, either through day-to-day managerial control or policy formulation. This is different from regional center investment, where investors are passive.

To qualify for an EB-5 under these circumstances, you must show that a minimum amount of required investment (US$800,000 for high unemployment or rural areas and US$1,050,000 for all others) was made available to the NCE. You may qualify if you contribute the required minimum investment amount of your personal funds to the NCE, which in turn will use those funds to purchase the building.