IN THIS GUIDE · A vendor whose money arrives from three different places and has to be traced back to all of them
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
The amount, and what makes the lower figure available
The qualifying investment is US$1,050,000, reduced to US$800,000 where the capital goes into a targeted employment area or into a qualifying infrastructure project, with statutory adjustment of those amounts beginning on 1 January 2027. A targeted employment area is a rural area or one of high unemployment, determined by criteria set out in the statute and applied to the location of the new commercial enterprise or, in the relevant circumstances, of the job-creating activity. The designation is not something a promoter can simply assert in a brochure. Halvard should ask for the underlying data and the basis on which it was prepared, and have it checked independently, because paying the lower amount for a project that does not in fact qualify is a failure that surfaces long after the money has gone.
Lawful source and lawful path are two separate demands
Source asks where the wealth came from. Path asks how it travelled from there to the investment. Halvard has three streams and each needs its own file. The sale of the exploration company requires the share purchase agreement, the valuation, several years of corporate financial statements and tax filings, evidence that the business itself was lawfully operated, and confirmation of what was paid and when. The timber revenue requires proof of ownership of the lot, the harvest and sale agreements, scaling records and the deposits that followed. Any funds that were accumulated as personal savings need the income history behind them. Then the path: bank statements bridging every step, without unexplained intervening accounts, and an explanation for any transfer that changed currency or jurisdiction.
At least ten jobs, and the difference between projects
The investment must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying American workers. How that is evidenced depends on the structure. Where the investment goes into a business he controls directly, the jobs are actual positions filled by actual people and are proved with payroll records. Where it goes through a designated regional centre, a defined portion of indirect and induced job creation may be counted using reasonable economic methodologies, subject to the statutory conditions on how those jobs are attributed. That difference in method is not a difference in seriousness. The ten jobs remain the point of the programme, and a project that misses them leaves the investor unable to remove conditions later, whatever the offering documents projected.
Engagement in management or policy formulation is still required
An investor who places capital through a regional centre is not a passive holder of a bond. The statute requires engagement in the management of the enterprise, whether through day-to-day managerial control or through policy formulation, and the usual vehicle is a limited partnership interest or a limited liability company membership carrying rights that satisfy that test. Halvard should read the offering documents for what they actually give him rather than for what the marketing summary says, and ask specifically which rights he holds, how information is reported to him, what he can vote on and what happens if the project changes course. This is also the moment to notice that his capital must remain invested and at risk for the period the law requires, which should be confirmed against current official guidance rather than assumed.
Two conditional years, then the petition that decides everything
Approval leads to permanent residence granted on a conditional basis for two years for the investor, his spouse and his qualifying children. Before the end of that period, Form I-829 must be filed to remove the conditions, and it is that petition, not the first one, which decides whether the family keeps its status. It has to show that the investment was made and sustained as required and that the jobs were created. The practical consequence is that Halvard's diligence should be aimed at the second petition from the beginning. A project that is easy to enter and vague about job creation timing is a problem deferred, and a household that has already sold a business and moved a family has very little room to absorb it.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.