IN THIS GUIDE · Budgeting in Canadian dollars for United States EB-5 obligations stated in US dollars.
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
The threshold is a US dollar figure
The qualifying investment is US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 where the project is in a targeted employment area or qualifies as an infrastructure project. Statutory adjustments begin January 1, 2027, so a filing planned for later should be rechecked against the amount in force then. A Canadian-dollar budget is a planning tool; the threshold is measured in the currency the statute names. Record the exchange date and the U.S.-dollar amount received, not only the Canadian amount sent.
Conversion is a settlement, not an estimate
A quoted rate on the day you plan is not the rate that settles the transfer. Between the two sit spreads, wire charges and the timing of each leg, and none of that disappears because the budget was rounded. Building the plan around the US dollar figure that must arrive, rather than the Canadian amount you intend to send, keeps the two numbers from drifting apart. Hypothetical example: an investor funds a reusable medical-packaging plant after a currency quotation expires. The immediate decision is whether the wire amount, after the documented conversion and fees, still satisfies the required U.S.-dollar commitment. The conversion confirmation, wire instruction and receiving statement settle that point.
Proving the path across two banking systems
Lawful source explains how the funds were earned; lawful path explains every account they crossed. A cross-border transfer usually adds a converting institution and sometimes an intermediary bank, and each of those is a link the file should cover. Keep the conversion confirmation, the outgoing instruction and the receiving statement together so one movement can be read end to end. Where an intermediary appears, obtain its record promptly; a missing link can obscure an otherwise lawful path.
What currency planning does not settle
Getting the money across does not answer the program's questions. Capital must remain at risk, at least ten qualifying full-time jobs must be created, and the investor, spouse and children are not counted among those jobs. A standalone petition is filed on Form I-526 and a regional center petition on Form I-526E; a regional center's designation is not an endorsement or a guarantee of approval. Keep later job-creation evidence and proof that capital remains at risk, because conditional residence has its own removal-of-conditions stage.
Count the ten jobs on a direct payroll
In either structure the investor must engage in management or policy formulation; EB-5 does not invariably require hands-on day-to-day involvement where qualifying policy rights suffice. A direct investment counts only full-time positions on the new commercial enterprise's payroll, held by U.S. citizens, permanent residents or other authorized workers, and the investor and family do not count. Read the offering and project documents for repayment, redemption, and allocation terms that may affect whether capital is genuinely at risk.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.