The qualifying-worker definition excludes the investor’s sons and daughters, as well as the investor and spouse. Do not assume citizenship or adulthood removes that exclusion.
Distinguish the job-count rule from derivative eligibility
A qualifying spouse and unmarried children under 21 may seek derivative immigration benefits, subject to individual eligibility and applicable age rules. Those family-category rules do not make an excluded relative a qualifying EB-5 worker, and an adult child does not become a derivative merely by working in the business.
Each family member is separately admissible, and shared facts about the funds can affect several files at once, but derivative eligibility still depends on your petition standing. A first review should identify the principal and each derivative, verify relationship and age records, and map the immigrant process against the family’s actual dates. Choose the principal investor from subscription and ownership records, then explain each spouse’s interest in joint funds. Map the principal investor’s petition, visa or adjustment step, admission, conditional-residence start and removal-of-conditions filing before choosing a family move date. Immigrant-visa derivatives generally enter with or after the principal, and a child’s age or available protection requires individual analysis. The Child Status Protection Act can preserve a child's eligibility during petition processing, but visa-bulletin backlogs can still cause a child to age out.