IN THIS GUIDE · Test the troubled-business criteria before relying on preserved EB-5 jobs
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Check the actual financial definition
The regulatory troubled-business definition requires at least two years of existence and a net loss under generally accepted accounting principles during the twelve- or twenty-four-month period before the investor’s priority date. The loss must be at least twenty percent of the business’s net worth before that loss. A decline in revenue or a temporary unpaid bill does not alone establish this test. For the business-age test, the regulation treats a successor in interest as having existed for the period of the business it succeeded; assess the succession records rather than assuming that a new legal name restarts that period. Obtain the financial statements, tax records and ownership history before choosing the troubled-business route. The key decision is whether the stated loss and net-worth comparison fall within the regulatory measurement period; informal accounts or a recent downturn cannot substitute for those records.
Identify the employment preservation obligation
Under the applicable troubled-business provision, the existing employee level must be maintained at no less than the pre-investment level for at least two years. The investor still needs the applicable ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor; do not assume a business with any small payroll qualifies regardless of the job requirement. Create a dated headcount schedule showing the baseline employment level, each employee's qualifying status and the period of maintenance. This lets the investor decide whether preservation is truly available or whether a different job-creation model and evidence plan are required.
Retain capital and participation requirements
Current general thresholds are US$1.05 million or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted-employment-area or infrastructure case, with statutory adjustments beginning January 1, 2027 under applicable filing-date rules. Establish lawful source and path, at-risk capital and management or policy participation. A distressed purchase price does not itself reduce the statutory threshold. Trace the investment from lawful source to the new commercial enterprise or qualifying vehicle, including gifts, loans and intermediary accounts where applicable. The capital amount, the place-based threshold and the use of proceeds are distinct decisions; a lower threshold cannot be assumed from a mailing address alone.
Keep the two-year measures properly identified
Review the relevant business and employment evidence against the actual rule, not an invented clock starting when the investor first heard of the project. Conditional residence separately begins with applicable immigrant admission or adjustment approval; I-829 is generally filed in the 90 days before its second anniversary. Do not merge every two-year reference into one date. Keep the immigration timeline beside the business timeline. Conditional residence does not eliminate the later petition to remove conditions, so the two-year operating and job evidence must be collected while events occur, rather than reconstructed only when the I-829 filing window approaches.
What a regional center designation is, and is not
A regional center designation is a status held by the center, not an approval of the offering and not a prediction of outcome.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.