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EB-5 investment amounts and costs

Investment amount and case processing times depend on project location in Targeted Employment Area (TEA)

A rural TEA is any area other than an area within a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) (as designated by the Office of Management and Budget) or within the outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more according to the most recent decennial census of the United States. An urban TEA (or high-unemployment) consists of the census tract or contiguous census tracts in which the new commercial enterprise is principally doing business, which may include any or all directly adjacent census tracts, if the weighted average unemployment for the specified area based on the labor force employment measure for each tract is 150% of the national unemployment average.  An infrastructure project is a capital investment project in a filed or approved business plan, which is administered by a governmental entity (such as a Federal, State, or local agency or authority) that is the job-creating entity contracting with a regional center or new commercial enterprise to receive capital investment under the regional center program from alien investors or the new commercial enterprise as financing for maintaining, improving, or constructing a public works project.

  • Investment Amount
  • Invested into
  • Amount
  • Project located in TEA (or infrastructure project)
  • Equity of US private company
  • $800,000
  • Project not in TEA
  • Equity of US private company
  • $1 ,050,000

    not feasible to consider

  • EB-5 Visa Standard Costs
  • Recipient
  • Amount
  • Administrative fee
  • Regional Center (Management Company)
  • $60,000 — $80,000
  • Legal services
  • Immigration attorney
  • $15,000 — $35,000
  • Filing fees
  • United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
  • >$12,000

    exact amount depends on number of family members

  • Processing Time
  • Project in Rural TEA: 1 -12 months
  • Project in Urban TEA: ->24 months

Where to start

  • 1
    Preliminary review source of your investment funds (SOF)
  • 2
    Determine any facts that would question your eligibility for US immigration visa
  • 3
    Choose US licensed immigration attorney with EB-5 experience
  • 4
    Provide immigration attorney with SOF documents to put together your EB-5 petition
  • 5
    Immigration attorney reviews and approves your case
  • 6
    Wisely chose EB-5 project for investment - we are here to help you with this

Investment risks

Any EB-5 investment must be made "at-risk", i.e. repayment of your capital cannot be guaranteed. Investor's capital must be invested into job-creating entity, as a loan or equity. Repayment risks can be minimized in a project with low-risk capital structure.

Processing times:

Under the recent EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, processing times should not exceed 120 days (rural TEA) - 240 days (Urban TEA). In practice, processing times for projects in Rural TEA currently range from 30 days to 12 months. For projects in Urban TEA, this period can be longer than 24 months.

If investor is in the US on a non-immigrant visa (e.g. H1-B, F-1), they can apply for adjustment of status once they file EB-5 petition. This speeds up the residency process and allows investor to obtain work (EAD) and travel permits (APD) in just a few months. If investor is outside the US, and have no basis for adjustment of status, they will need to go through a consular procedure to obtain immigrant visa, which will lengthen the overall process.

Once an investor’s EB-5 petition (Form I-526E) is approved and all required formalities are completed, the investor and their family receive a conditional green card valid for two years. To obtain a permanent green card, they must file Form I-829 within the 90-day period before the conditional status expires, demonstrating that the investment remained at risk and resulted in the required job creation. Your regional center or management company will provide the necessary documentation for this filing.

Guide

Step-by-step guide to obtaining EB-5 visa

  • Stage 1. Study EB-5 requirements

    Step 1

    Am I eligible for a US immigrant visa?

    If you have no criminal record, no prior US visa violations, and no charges in the United States, you should usually have no issues obtaining an EB-5 visa. If such circumstances exist, consult with your immigration attorney.

    Step 2

    Can I afford it?

    EB-5 is an investment program that requires an investment of $800,000, not counting additional costs for attorney services, project administrative fees, and filing fees. The return on investment in a low-risk project is usually minimal (0.25-0.5%), and your investment will be locked up in project for several years. Early withdrawal of capital from the project is usually impossible, and is fraught with denial of EB-5 petition or loss of green card and overhead costs.

    Step 3

    Can I provide documents to prove source of my funds?

    One of the most important aspects of the EB-5 program is to document the legal source of the invested capital. Whether it is your salary income, dividends, sale of asset, gifts or loans from friends or family members, you must be able to prove the legal origin of all capital invested. In case of loaned or gifted capital your grantor will have to prove the same.

  • Stage 2. Preparation of petition and choosing EB-5 project

    Step 1

    Retain immigration lawyer and prepare source of funds

    Choose an immigration attorney with experience in EB-5, retain him. Attorney will start preparing your case and review your documents. At this stage, you will be required to provide supporting documents, the entire process can take from a few weeks to a few months depending on how difficult it is to trace the source of funds of your capital.

    Step 2

    Select the right EB-5 project

    In parallel with Step 5, choose a conservatively structured EB-5 project. We will help you by auditing project's capital structure, job creation model, legal documents, etc. As soon as you decide to invest in the project, sign subscription documents. Remember, it is unethical for your immigration attorney to refer any investment projects to you.

    Step 3

    Wire investment to the project

    Once the process of confirming the source of capital is completed, you will be able to sign the documents to invest in the project and wire the investment amount to the project's escrow account. In some cases, the RC allows the transfer of the investment in several stages. The escrow agent usually allows the transfer of capital  after filing confirmation of your petition to USCIS.

    Step 4

    File EB-5 Petition with USCIS

    Once the investment (in whole or in part) is made, the attorney will mail your I-526E petition to USCIS. Within a few weeks, you will receive a notice confirming that your petition was received and processing stage began.

  • Stage 3. Wait for petition approval

    Step 1

    Wait for your petition to be approved by USCIS

    The timeframe for processing EB-5 petitions vary and cannot be expedited. According to the new 2022 rules, the maximum review period for projects in rural TEAs is 120 days and 240 days for projects in urban TEAs. Accordingly, if you are interested in priority processing, choose a project in a rural TEA.

    Step 2

    If you filed for adjusting of status wait for work and travel permits (for applicants in USA with certain visa categories)

    If you are already in the United States on certain nonimmigrant visa categories, such as H1-B and F-1, you may file an application to adjust your classification to immigrant status (Adjustment of status, Form I-485) after your I-526 petition is filed. While waiting for your adjustment of status, you can apply for work and travel permits. Processing times vary from two to six months. Be sure to consult with your attorney on this matter.

  • Stage 4. EB-5 Petition approved, conditional green card received

    Step 1

    Obtain immigrant visa to enter USA / Receive adjustment of status

    If you are outside USA when your petition is approved, your attorney will file an immigrant visa application, and within a few months you will go through the immigrant visa process (which includes a document review, a medical examination, and an in-person interview) at a U.S. consular post abroad. Once this process is complete, you will receive an immigrant visa and will be able to enter the United States as an immigrant. If you are in the United States and have filed Form I-485 to adjust status, you do not need to obtain a visa.

  • Stage 5. Residency status on conditional green card

    Step 1

    Permanent residency status

    You will receive your conditional green card by mail (usually through your attorney). Your first green card will be essentially the same as a permanent green card, except that it is valid for two years.

  • Stage 6. Obtain permanent green card

    Step 1

    File petition for permanent green card

    Within the last 90 days before the expiration of the two-year term of the initial green card, you must file an I-829 petition through your attorney. Soon after filing, you will receive a confirmation of the extension of permanent residency for 48 months. You have the right to remain in the United States as a permanent resident, including the right to work and leave the country, during the entire period of processing of I-829 petition. To obtain a permanent green card, your petition must confirm that all of the following conditions are met: your investment led to creation of at least 10 jobs, your capital remained at-risk in the project for at least 2 years from the date of investment. The management company (RC) of your project is responsible for providing you with this documentation.

    Step 2

    Obtain permanent green card

    Once your I-829 petition is approved, you will receive your permanent green card. At this point, the EB-5 program formalities are complete. After you have lived in the United States for four years and nine months (from the date your first green card became effective), you are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. You can do this yourself or have an attorney do it for you.

    Step 3

    Repayment of your capital

    The terms and conditions for repayment of your investment depend on the project you choose. Do not expect quick repayment, since development projects are not interested in "short term" money. The repayment date for your investment depends on the terms of a loan agreement (maturity date) whereby your capital was provided to the developer, and success of the project. Realistic repayment expectations: 3-7 years.

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    Regional centers

    EB-5 Regional Center Program

    • Regional Centers

      Passive investing

      The EB-5 Regional Center program, established in 1993, allows investment in commercial enterprises through Regional Centers (RC) designated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In practice, RC are typically owned or operated by management companies (MC) raising EB-5 capital for various investment projects that seek cheaper capital.

    • Collective investment and job cushion

      Job creation and additional benefits

      Investing through a Regional Center (RC) project, unlike a standalone investment, allows EB-5 investors to pool their funds, maintain a passive role in business management, and benefit from a more flexible job creation model. RC projects also permit the inclusion of indirect and induced jobs generated by the overall economic activity, creating a substantial job cushion beyond the 10 jobs legally required per investor—while still meeting the at-risk capital requirement.

    • Management company and Regional Center

      Who is who?

      Regional Centers (RCs) are shell companies officially designated by USCIS to raise EB-5 investments within specific states where projects are located. However, in practice, it is the management company that drives the process—it structures the investment project, engages an RC authorized to operate in the relevant state, and oversees capital investment and project execution. The management company creates an EB-5 eligible project structure, invests capital to developer, and acts as the manager of your investment entity (issuer) ensuring that the developer follows construction schedule and complies with the terms of the loan agreement.

    What is a Targeted Employment Area (TEA)?

    There are two types:
    • 01

      Rural TEA is any area other than an area within a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) (as designated by the Office of Management and Budget) or within the outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more according to the most recent decennial census of the United States. There are also infrastructure projects - capital investment, outlined in an approved business plan, managed by a government entity that partners with a regional center or new commercial enterprise to use EB-5 funds for public works development.

    • 02

      Urban TEA (high unemployment) TEA consists of the census tract or contiguous census tracts in which the new commercial enterprise is principally doing business, which may include any or all directly adjacent census tracts, if the weighted average unemployment for the specified area based on the labor force employment measure for each tract is 150% of the national unemployment average.

    EB-5 projects located in rural TEA (plus EB-5 infrastructure projects) grant investors with priority processing of petitions. TEA type will be stated in the project documents. We recommend that you double-check this with the TEA map.

    Project documents:
    Structure of EB-5 project

    What does a typical EB-5 project look like?

    • New Commercial Enterprise (NCE)

      01

      This is the company that EB-5 investors invest in. In a typical EB-5 project, each investor acquires one ownership unit in the new commercial enterprise (NCE), usually structured as a limited liability company (LLC). The NCE is managed by a management company, and the invested capital is typically loaned to the job-creating enterprise (JCE).

    • Job Creating Entity (JCE)

      02

      The company where the jobs will be created. JCE is owned by the project developer. EB-5 investors’ funds are pooled in the NCE and typically provided to the JCE as a loan. Additional project financing is usually contributed by the developer, banks, grants, investment funds, or other capital sources.

    • Loan-type project

      03

      This is a project in which NCE provides funds from investors to the project company in the form of a loan. Each project has a fixed coupon rate and a loan term/maturity period. The fixed coupon rate is paid over the life of the loan, beginning on the day the funds are provided to the developer. In a typical EB-5 project, the loan term is 3 to 7 years.

    • Equity-type project

      04

      This is a project where NCE invests in a project through preferred shares, pari passu or any other form of equity in JCE. Such projects are inherently riskier but, in theory, have the potential to bring higher returns if business is successful.

      In such models, there is no fixed term of repayment of investor's capital, and it entirely depends on profitable sale or refinancing of the project.

    Structure of a standard EB-5 project

    EB-5 Investors
    Equity
    New Commercial Enterprise (NCE)
    (raises capital)
    Loan
    Management company
    Regional center
    Developer
    Equity
    Job Creating Entity (JCE)
    (creates jobs)
    Loan
    Bank or other lender
    Healthy EB-5 Project
    2nd priority
    Developer's Equity
    1st priority
    EB-5 Loan
    Total project capital
    35%
    65%
    LTC: 65% debt to equity ratio and senior priority of EB-5 loan
    High-risk EB-5 project
    2nd priority
    EB-5 Loan
    3rd priority
    Developer's equity
    1st priority
    Bank's loan
    Total project capital
    65%
    20,00%
    15,00%
    LTC: 85% Debt to Equity and second priority of EB-5 loan

    Senior Lender:

    The senior lender has first priority for repayment and the right to foreclose on collateral if the loan defaults. In the event of project failure, the senior lender can take ownership of the unfinished project’s assets and sell them to recover funds. While most often a bank, the senior lender can sometimes be an EB-5 company, and projects with this structure offer the highest level of repayment security.

    Second-priority lender (junior or mezzanine loan):

    This lender holds a second lien position, meaning repayment occurs only after the senior lender’s claim is fully satisfied. Most EB-5 investor loans fall into this category, making it essential to understand the senior lender’s rights. The repayment priority directly impacts both the risk and potential return on your investment. Clearly, junior loan pays much higher rate of return than senior.

    Other important factors to consider include the asset’s current value during construction, the projected completion date, and the likelihood of the project being finished on schedule.

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