Do not count independent contractors as the enterprise’s qualifying employee positions. Examine the actual relationships and the rules for the chosen investment framework.
Verify jobs rather than a list of payees
EB-5 requires at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor. For the standalone direct-job analysis, each claimed position and worker must satisfy the relevant employment, hours and eligibility requirements; contractor payments alone do not establish them.
Choose the petition only after documenting whether the capital goes into a standalone new commercial enterprise or an approved regional-center structure. The enterprise can be run by professional managers, but the requirement that the investor participate through management or policy formulation is personal and has to be reflected in the partnership or operating documents. The investor must be engaged in the enterprise through management or policy formulation, but a limited partner with the rights ordinarily given to limited partners meets that standard. The requirement of at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers attaches to each investor individually, and it is the investor who must eventually prove it when filing to remove conditions. The first review checks the investment amount applicable on the filing date, the new commercial enterprise, the lawful path of every dollar, and the credible job-creation plan.