IN THIS GUIDE · Examine a proposed business purchase without assuming existing payroll satisfies EB-5
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Identify the jobs attributable to the proposal
List existing positions separately from jobs expected to result from the investment. EB-5 generally requires at least ten qualifying full-time positions per investor under the applicable framework. For the qualifying-worker calculation, assess U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and other qualifying immigrants authorized to work. Exclude the investor, spouse, sons and daughters, and people in nonimmigrant status. Special rules, including qualifying troubled-business job preservation, need their own assessment; an existing payroll is not a universal substitute for job creation. Build a position-by-position table showing title, hours, hiring date, worker category and connection to the business plan. That record reveals whether a job count relies on planned positions, existing positions, or unsupported assumptions.
Account for qualifying capital rather than total deal cost
The standard amount is currently US$1.05 million, or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project, with statutory adjustment beginning January 1, 2027. Capital must be at risk, with a documented lawful source and transfer path. Purchase charges, professional fees and other expenditures should be identified separately rather than assumed to be qualifying capital. The buyer’s Canadian address does not determine the reduced investment category. Trace the purchase price, operating cash and immigration capital separately from their source through deployment. The reader must decide whether every claimed dollar is genuinely available to the enterprise and subject to gain or loss.
Understand the investor’s participation
The applicant must participate in management or policy formulation. Daily hands-on operation is not universally required; qualifying limited-partner rights can satisfy the applicable participation rule. Identify the actual agreement and rights rather than relying on a label such as passive investor. Standalone and regional-centre proposals use different evidence frameworks, and a regional-centre designation does not guarantee commercial or immigration success. Read governance documents for actual voting, removal and policy rights before selecting a passive-looking structure. The relevant question is participation in management or policy formulation, not whether the investor visits the business daily.
Plan beyond the initial investor petition
An approved petition does not by itself grant residence. Admission with an immigrant visa or approval of adjustment of status establishes conditional residence. Removal of conditions requires the later process, generally filing I-829 during the 90 days before the second anniversary of conditional residence. Filing does not automatically remove conditions or cause repayment. Track the evidence needed from the business as well as the household’s immigration calendar. Plan for the later evidence window at the time of investment: payroll, invoices, tax records and proof of deployed capital may be needed after conditional residence begins. A later filing cannot recreate records that were never retained.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.