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From preparation to permanent residence

The EB-5 process, step by step

How the EB-5 process runs, from reviewing an offering to the final immigration filing: what happens at each stage, who takes part and which documents carry it forward.

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In short

Investor petition
Form I-526E, through a regional center
Green card
Consular processing abroad or adjustment of status in the U.S.
Conditions
A conditional green card first, then Form I-829
Capital
Repayment follows the offering terms, not the immigration stages

Five stages to understand

This overview describes an investment through a regional center designated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the EB-5 program. Your attorney sets the filing sequence; some steps may overlap where the rules allow.

  1. Review an offering and your circumstances

    Examine the offering, risks, full budget, family circumstances and source of funds. Result: a list of open questions and the documents needed before committing.

  2. Prepare the investment and investor petition

    Prepare the investment agreements and supporting evidence with the relevant professionals. A regional-center investor files Form I-526E with USCIS. Result: a submitted investor petition, not yet a Green Card.

  3. Complete the residence application

    Follow consular processing or, if eligible in the United States, adjustment of status. Visa availability and personal requirements apply. Result, if approved: conditional permanent residence.

  4. Maintain the required evidence

    During the conditional-residence stage, track the evidence needed to show compliance with investment and employment requirements. Result: a documented record for the removal-of-conditions filing.

  5. Apply to remove the conditions

    File Form I-829 in the 90-day window before conditional residence expires, normally its second anniversary. Result, if approved: removal of residence conditions. Capital repayment follows its own applicable terms.

  6. How does the EB-5 visa work, step by step?

    Through a regional center, EB-5 runs in five stages. You review the offering and your own circumstances. You invest and file Form I-526E with USCIS. Once USCIS approves the petition and a visa is available, you complete consular processing abroad or, if eligible in the United States, adjustment of status; the rules may let you file that application earlier. If approved, you receive conditional permanent residence for two years and keep the evidence of investment and jobs. Finally you file Form I-829 to ask USCIS to remove the conditions.

Sources & date checked ·

Who handles each part of an EB-5 case?

Your investment and immigration application involve different professionals. Their agreements should clearly identify who represents you, which work is included and who supplies the project evidence.

You, the investor
Choose whether to participate, review the risks and provide accurate evidence about your funds and circumstances.
Your immigration attorney
Reviews the immigration route, prepares your case and explains deadlines under an agreed scope of work. Confirm the client, stages covered and fees in the engagement agreement.
The investment and project parties
Provide the project and investment documents and the relevant business and employment evidence. Their exact duties depend on the legal structure and agreements.
U.S. government authorities
USCIS reviews investor petitions and applicable residence applications. Consular processing involves the Department of State; each authority decides within its remit.

Do you apply from inside the United States or from abroad?

An applicant outside the United States generally completes consular processing. Someone already in the United States may use adjustment of status if eligible; visa availability and their individual circumstances matter.

Applying from outside the United States
The usual route is an immigrant-visa process through a U.S. consulate. Your attorney explains the required documents and how the investor petition connects to that process.
Applying from within the United States
Adjustment of status may be available if you meet the conditions. Being physically in the country is not sufficient by itself; obtain advice on your status and the applicable filing dates.
What is Form I-526E and who files it?
Form I-526E is the investor petition used by someone investing through a regional center, seeking classification under section 203(b)(5)(E). USCIS has published a 20 January 2025 edition of the form. If you file it together with Form I-485, USCIS requires a separate fee payment for each form. Filing the petition is a submission to USCIS, not an approval.
Can Form I-485 be filed at the same time as the investor petition?
If you are in the United States, are otherwise eligible to adjust status and an immigrant visa is available to you under the applicable rules, USCIS states that you may file Form I-485 together with the investor petition, while it is pending, or after it is approved. Use the chart USCIS authorizes for filing that month; a visa must also be available when USCIS makes its final decision.
What is a priority date in EB-5?
Your priority date marks your place in the immigrant visa queue. In the EB-5 category — the employment-based fifth preference — it is the date USCIS accepts your investor petition for processing. The Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin shows which applications may proceed, by priority date, category and country of chargeability, usually your country of birth.
What is the visa bulletin and how do you read it?
The Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin has two charts of priority-date cutoffs: final action dates and dates for filing. Find your EB-5 category and country of chargeability, usually your country of birth. A listed cutoff means your priority date must be earlier than that date; C means current and U means unavailable. For Form I-485, also check which chart USCIS authorizes for filing that month. Permission to file is different from visa availability for final approval. Cutoff dates can move backwards — USCIS calls this retrogression — so check again when you file and while your case is pending.
Sources & date checked ·

When do the immigration stages end, and when is capital repaid?

Document preparation, government processing, visa availability and project financing follow different schedules. Ask for estimates with a date, assumptions and a clear explanation of what may change.

EB-5 residence is initially conditional for two years. Form I-829 is filed during the 90 days immediately before that status expires to request removal of the conditions.

Repayment is governed by the investment documents. A two-year immigration stage does not establish a two-year repayment date.

What is conditional residence and how are the conditions removed?
EB-5 permanent residence is granted first on a conditional basis for two years. To remove the conditions you file Form I-829 during the 90-day period immediately before conditional residence expires, which USCIS ties to your second anniversary as a conditional permanent resident. Filing before that window opens can lead to rejection.
When is the invested capital repaid?
Repayment is governed by the investment documents, not by the immigration timetable. The two-year conditional residence stage does not set a repayment date, and the statutory sustainment requirement is a separate question again. Ask for the repayment provisions, any rights to extend them, the expected source of payment and what happens if the project underperforms.
How long does the EB-5 process take?
There is no fixed timetable. The total depends on how long USCIS takes to decide Form I-526E, on whether an immigrant visa is available for your category and country of chargeability — usually your country of birth — and on consular processing or adjustment of status. Permanent residence is then conditional for two years; Form I-829 is filed in the last 90 days of that period. Processing times change, so this page states none: ask your immigration attorney for the current ones.
Can you get U.S. citizenship through investment?
Not directly. EB-5 leads to permanent residence — a green card, granted first on a conditional basis — not to citizenship. Citizenship is a separate naturalization application to USCIS, generally open to a permanent resident of five years and subject to its own requirements, including continuous residence, physical presence, English and civics. The investment itself does not confer citizenship.

Prepare for your first consultation with an immigration attorney

Start with an outline, not a file upload. Detailed financial and identity documents belong in the secure channel agreed with your immigration attorney.

Family and timing
Who plans to apply, where they are now and whether there are dates that matter for work, education or a child’s age.
Capital and its source
The proposed investment budget, how the money was earned or received and which records already exist.
Questions about the investment
The parties, your rights, the use of funds, employment evidence, all fees and the conditions for repayment.

Your next step

Questions about the residences? Ask the broker.

Contact the brokerPrepare your questions