Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Ask when the capital will actually be available
EB-5 requires capital placed at risk, and an entitlement to future payments is not capital. Instalments already received can be invested; instalments still to come cannot, unless they are converted, discounted or secured in a way that makes the money available now. Ask the accountant what has been received to date and ask counsel whether the note can be sold or borrowed against, using assets the investor owns rather than the enterprise itself as security. Do not treat the face amount of a note as cash. The record that settles the point is the payment trail, coupled with documents showing whether a sale, loan, or other transaction has made money available for the investment. Any financing should be analysed before it is committed, including its security and repayment terms.
Ask how the source of funds will be shown
The lawful source and path of the funds must be documented from origin to investment. Here the origin is a share redemption, so the file needs the shareholders agreement, the redemption resolution, the valuation, the note, the payment records and the tax treatment of each instalment. Where part of the money came from a matrimonial property settlement, the settlement agreement and the court or separation documentation belong in the file too, not summarised but produced. Arrange the source file in chronological order from the original acquisition of the business through each redemption payment and tax filing. Bank statements should connect the documents rather than leave unexplained jumps. A first review should mark every transfer, gift, settlement, or loan that will need its own primary record.
Ask which category the project qualifies for
The current qualifying amount is $1,050,000, reduced to $800,000 for a targeted employment area or infrastructure project; verify both figures before committing. The investment must create at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying US workers. Reserved allocations exist for rural areas, high-unemployment targeted employment areas and infrastructure projects alongside the unreserved category, and visa availability can differ among them. Ask the project for the documents supporting its location and job methodology, not merely a label used in marketing. The investor should determine whether the allocation, the required capital amount, and the projected job creation fit the household's risk and timing. Visa availability should be checked again immediately before a filing decision.
Ask what the investor is expected to do
The investor must be engaged in the management of the enterprise, either through day-to-day managerial control or through policy formulation, and a purely passive holding does not satisfy the requirement. In a regional centre project that role is usually structured through a limited partnership interest with defined rights. Ask to see the partnership or operating agreement and confirm what the investor's rights actually are before treating the requirement as handled. Read the limited-partnership or operating agreement for actual policy rights, reporting duties, and exit terms. EB-5 capital must remain exposed to the enterprise's risk and the required employment must be created. Conditional permanent residence is not a trial option; the household should plan to maintain real residence from the outset.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.