IN THIS GUIDE · Switching from an escrowed EB-5 project before the I-526E is filed
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Read the clause you actually signed
Nothing about switching is automatic. Withdrawal, release conditions and any repayment right live in the subscription and escrow documents you signed, and some clauses expressly condition release on approvals or events outside your control. Escrow by itself neither guarantees safety nor free withdrawal. Contractual refund rights may exist and may be enforceable; immigration law does not guarantee that money comes back. Make a dated table for every movement: original source, first project, release instruction, receiving account and second project. The table identifies whether any period or transaction still lacks primary records.
Trace what actually returned, then where it goes
Record the amounts that genuinely left escrow, the accounts they landed in, and the dates. If part is withheld or delayed, the shortfall matters only where it creates a real gap in qualifying capital for the new investment. The lawful source of the funds and their full path must be documented again for the replacement project, on its own record. Review the offering documents and business plan as separate records. One explains the investor’s terms; the other should explain how the claimed job creation is expected to arise and be documented.
A different project is a different job basis
At least ten qualifying full-time jobs must be attributable to the investor, and the permitted counting methods differ between a standalone direct investment and a regional center project. Moving from one to the other changes the evidence, the economic assumptions and the petition form — I-526 standalone, I-526E for a regional center. A regional center designation is not an endorsement or approval of the offering. A frequent error is combining a lawful source explanation with a vague path-of-funds narrative. A sale agreement cannot establish where the proceeds went after closing, and later statements cannot replace the sale record.
What the delay does to the household
A later filing can affect the priority date and downstream planning: petition adjudication, visa availability, then either an immigrant visa abroad or an adjustment you are actually eligible for. A spouse and unmarried children under 21 derive from your petition, and age protection is fact-specific rather than promised. Chargeability commonly follows country of birth, not a Canadian address or passport. The first review should identify the earliest missing link and the record most likely to settle it, such as a bank wire confirmation or escrow release. It should also separate investment risk from any unrelated refund promise.
Gifted capital and the qualifying amount
The qualifying capital is one million and fifty thousand United States dollars, reduced to eight hundred thousand where the new commercial enterprise is principally doing business in a qualifying targeted employment area or is an infrastructure project.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.