IN THIS GUIDE · Trace the gift and the sale proceeds separately before either is called capital
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
A gift carries the donor's burden with it
When a parent gives part of the capital, the file must show the parent's lawful source: employment history, tax filings, property sales or savings records sufficient to explain how the money was accumulated. A gift letter establishes that the funds were given without obligation to repay; it does not establish where they came from. If the donor's records are thin because the wealth is old, the account should say so and offer what exists, such as long-held property and the sale documents, rather than a bare declaration. Treat the donor as a second applicant for source-of-funds purposes. The investment decision is therefore not only about a project's projected return. Compare the offering documents with the evidence needed later: job methodology, deployment terms, escrow release conditions, investor rights and exit language. A guaranteed repayment or a weak explanation of the funds' lawful origin can undermine the case even if the project appears commercially attractive.
Sale proceeds must be traced through every account
Clinic proceeds usually pass through a professional corporation before reaching the individuals. The trail is the purchase agreement, the closing statement, the corporation's bank records showing receipt, the resolution or dividend record authorizing payment to the owners, the personal accounts receiving it, and the transfer to the project escrow. Tax filings for the corporation and the individuals support each step. A single wire confirmation at the end proves the path's last link and nothing before it.
The amount, the jobs and the investor's role
The applicable amount depends on whether the project is in a targeted employment area or is an infrastructure project; the investor should obtain the project's own evidence of that designation rather than the marketer's assurance. Regional-center projects count jobs through an economic model that includes indirect employment; direct investments count employees on payroll. In both, ten full-time positions per investor are required. Engagement in management or policy formulation is satisfied by the rights of a limited partner or member under the operating agreement, but the investor must actually hold those rights.
Conditional residence and the removal window
Approval of the investor petition is not residence. Residence follows through an immigrant visa or adjustment of status, subject to visa availability and admissibility, and it is conditional for two years. Form I-829 to remove conditions is filed in the ninety days before the second anniversary of conditional residence and must show the capital remained invested and the jobs were created. A spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one are derivatives, with the Child Status Protection Act's calculation potentially protecting a child who turns twenty-one during processing.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.