Read the general immigrant investor briefing overview
A Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac investor reviewing a direct-job EB-5 plan may see several workers whose hours add up to a full-time total. Examine the actual positions before using that arithmetic as the job analysis. The first review should separate the project record from the Gold Card record: investment agreement, jobs evidence, source and path documents, official payment instruction, applicant, and payee. Hypothetical example: A manufacturer of marine buoy recovery winches is deciding between a direct EB-5 expansion and a Gold Card payment after an employer offers support. The decision is whether the business can prove the EB-5 investment and job requirements on its own, or whether a separate Gold Card eligibility analysis and official official payment instruction are the real next steps.
Describe the position that the workers share
The full-time threshold is at least 35 working hours a week. A genuine job-sharing arrangement can concern one full-time position, but combining unrelated part-time positions does not create a qualifying full-time job merely because their hours add up. Identify the role, shared responsibilities and qualifying workers, then assess the applicable evidence. Ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor remain required under the relevant framework. Build a position-by-position table with title, duties, scheduled hours, employee identity or hiring plan, and supporting payroll or recruitment record. The reviewer must decide whether the claimed jobs meet the applicable direct-case requirements, not simply whether the total hours look attractive. This analysis should remain separate from any regional-center methodology and from a Gold Card payment discussion.
Keep the job method beside the other investment conditions
For regional-center cases, use the applicable job methodology rather than applying a direct payroll worksheet indiscriminately. EB-5 also requires lawful source and path, at-risk capital and management or policy participation. Current capital is US$1.05 million or US$800,000 for qualifying targeted-employment-area or infrastructure cases, with statutory adjustments from January 1, 2027 based on petition filing. Conditional residence begins with immigrant-visa admission or adjustment approval, not the payroll calculation or petition approval. Trace the EB-5 capital from its lawful source through every account and commitment, then test whether it is at risk and supports the required jobs under the selected structure. EB-5 leads first to conditional permanent residence after the applicable immigrant process, with later removal-of-conditions requirements. The reader must decide whether a direct or regional-center framework matches the actual evidence before relying on a projected job number.
Use a separate record for Gold Card payments
Gold Card involves a gift to the U.S. government following successful vetting and instructions, currently US$1 million individually or US$2 million for a corporate-sponsored employee, with US$15,000 nonrefundable processing per person. Its EB-1 or EB-2 eligibility, admissibility and visa-availability conditions remain. A staffing spreadsheet does not satisfy that route or turn its gift into recoverable project capital. Consult the official FAQ for family charges and corporate maintenance or transfer obligations when comparing total commitments. Treat Gold Card as a separate government-payment route, not as project capital or a conventional visa. Under the current instructions, payment is by the applicant to the U.S. government after successful vetting and the required instruction; an employer's promise to reimburse or arrange funds does not replace the official payee and process. The separate EB-1 or EB-2 eligibility, admissibility, and visa-availability conditions still require assessment.
What else is on your mind?
Does an EB-5 immigration review tell me whether an investment is good?Is the Gold Card another name for EB-5?Should I assume one Gold Card payment covers my family?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.