The EB-5 visa is a U.S. immigrant visa category that grants a green card to foreign nationals who invest in a job-creating American business. Qualifying investors receive lawful permanent residence for themselves, their spouse, and their unmarried children under 21.
In short: invest $800,000 in a qualifying project, create 10 U.S. jobs, and receive a green card.
Congress created the employment-based fifth preference category in 1990 to strengthen the U.S. economy by attracting foreign capital in exchange for permanent residency. The goal was, and remains, to create American jobs. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) modernized the program, setting the current investment amounts, creating reserved visa categories, and adding integrity safeguards.
The Program in Numbers
| Minimum investment (Targeted Employment Area) | $800,000 |
| Minimum investment (outside a TEA) | $1,050,000 |
| Jobs each investor must create | 10 full-time U.S. jobs |
| Visas available annually | ~10,000, including family members |
| Conditional residency period | 2 years |
| Who is covered | Investor, spouse, unmarried children under 21 |
The investment minimums and job-creation requirements are the same either way.
For many families, EB-5 is the clearest and most practical route to green cards for everyone at once.
If you are in the U.S. on a valid visa such as an H-1B or E-2 and a visa number is available in your category, you may be able to file your adjustment of status (Form I-485) concurrently with your EB-5 petition. That can produce a work permit and travel permit within a few months, well before your green card is issued.
There is no age, education, language, or nationality restriction. Investors do need to clear standard background, criminal, and medical checks.
Source of funds deserves special mention, because it is where petitions most often stumble. Salary, business earnings, the sale of property or a business, investment income, loans, gifts, and inheritance can all qualify, but each requires a documented, unbroken paper trail. Incomplete tracing is the leading cause of Requests for Evidence and the delays that follow.
See the full EB-5 requirements guide
The investment is the headline number, but it is not the whole number. It is also worth separating the two categories cleanly: the investment capital is not a fee. In a well-structured project it is intended to be returned to you once your conditions are removed. The fees below are true costs and are not recoverable.
| Cost component | Typical amount | Recoverable? |
|---|---|---|
| EB-5 investment capital | $800,000 (TEA) / $1,050,000 (non-TEA) | Yes, subject to project performance |
| Regional center / project administrative fee | ~$50,000 to $80,000 | No |
| Immigration attorney fees | ~$25,000 to $35,000 | No |
| USCIS government filing fees | ~$10,000 to $22,000 depending on path and family size | No |
| Other (translations, medical exams, transfers) | Varies | No |
For a family of four in a rural TEA project, the all-in outlay commonly lands near $900,000 to $930,000, of which the $800,000 investment is the recoverable portion.
One timing note worth acting on: investors who file on or before the September 30, 2026 grandfathering deadline lock in today’s investment minimums.
See the full EB-5 cost breakdown
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| I-526E petition, rural TEA (priority processing) | ~8 to 12 months |
| I-526E petition, high-unemployment TEA | ~12-24 months |
| I-526E petition, unreserved / non-TEA | 12-24+ months |
| Adjustment of status or consular processing | ~6 to 12 months |
| I-829 removal of conditions | ~20+ months |
Most countries are current, meaning no wait once your petition is approved. China and India face significant backlogs in the unreserved category. The RIA’s reserved set-asides (rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure) sit in separate queues and, as of mid-2026, remain current for every country, which makes them the strategic choice for investors from high-demand countries.
See current EB-5 processing times and the full timeline
A regional center is an entity designated by USCIS to sponsor EB-5 projects. It sources and structures projects, handles the compliance burden, pools capital from multiple investors, and deploys it into the project that creates the jobs. Investors in a regional center project hold a passive position, retaining certain voting rights in the investment entity but taking no part in daily operations.
Understand the at-risk rule. No one can guarantee the return of your capital, and any promise of a guaranteed high yield should be treated as a warning sign rather than a selling point. What a disciplined sponsor can offer is conservative underwriting, real collateral, and a clear exit strategy.
Retain an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney. The documentation burden is heavy and the standards are exacting. A misstep can cost months, or the petition.
Timing matters. Petitions filed on or before September 30, 2026 are grandfathered under the RIA. Processing queues lengthen as demand rises, reserved categories are expected to develop backlogs eventually, and children approaching 21 can age out of eligibility. Starting earlier protects all three.
FlexPath is an investment-first EB-5 sponsor. We develop and sponsor the projects our investors invest in, and we apply institutional underwriting standards to them, because the way to protect an investor’s green card and their capital is the same: build the project properly in the first place.
That means the questions in the Key Considerations section above are ones we welcome. Ask us about the structure, the collateral, the job cushion, and the exit. Those answers are the substance of an EB-5 decision.
Talk to the FlexPath team about how the EB-5 program works, what it would cost in your situation, and which project structure fits your timeline.
The EB-5 visa is a U.S. immigrant visa that grants a green card to foreign nationals who invest in a job-creating American business. Qualifying investors receive permanent residency for themselves, their spouse, and their unmarried children under 21.
$800,000 for a project in a Targeted Employment Area (rural or high-unemployment), or $1,050,000 for a project outside one. Filing on or before September 30, 2026 locks in these amounts.
Yes. An approved EB-5 petition leads first to a two-year conditional green card. Once you file Form I-829 and show that the jobs were created and your capital remained at risk, the conditions are removed and you receive a permanent green card.
No. EB-5 requires no employer sponsor, no specific degree, no English proficiency, and no prior business experience. The requirements center on the investment, its lawful source, and job creation.
It depends on project type and country of birth. Investors in reserved categories with no visa backlog commonly reach a conditional green card in roughly two to three years, with the permanent green card following several years later.
The capital is intended to be returned, typically within a three-to-seven-year window, but EB-5 rules require it to stay at risk, so no repayment can be guaranteed. This is why sponsor and project selection matter so much.
