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CHÂTEAUGUAY · EB-5 FIELD GUIDE

Does an additional fee for a particular membership class prove EB-5 compliance?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

Price does not establish the legal rights or the investment’s eligibility. Read what the class actually provides and which payments count as qualifying capital rather than charges.

Compare the rights and costs independently

The general current capital level is US$1.05 million or US$800,000 for a qualifying reduced-threshold case. Administrative, legal and government charges require separate budgeting; purchasing a label or access package does not guarantee the required participation or job creation. The subscription agreement and the fee schedule together show which payments do what.

Read them for four things: which amount is subscribed as capital into the new commercial enterprise, which amounts are administrative or sponsor fees, whether any fee is refundable and on what event, and which payments fall due before a filing rather than after it. Ask for a single written statement of every amount the investor will pay across the whole process, including amounts payable to third parties, and keep it beside the capital figure rather than merged into it. Hypothetical example: a project offers a membership class carrying earlier distributions in exchange for an additional administrative charge; that charge is not qualifying capital, and the class documents still have to be read for the rights actually accompanying it.

Professional and government charges are budgeted separately, with government amounts taken from the current published schedule and dated wherever an estimate is used.