EB-5 for Students
Questions families weigh when planning long-term U.S. residency for a student — from age and status to funding. Eligibility always needs individual assessment.
Read the guide
EB-5 investment immigration
Your Future in America Starts With Informed Decisions.
Explore the EB-5 investment immigration pathway, understand your options, and discover the information you need to plan your next step with confidence.
- TEA minimum
- $800,000
- or infrastructure
- Standard minimum
- $1,050,000
- before January 1, 2027
- Jobs per investor
- 10
- full-time positions
Program figures from USCIS, verified October 22, 2026. Amounts are scheduled to adjust for inflation from January 1, 2027.
- $800,000 minimum in a targeted employment area
- $1,050,000 standard minimum investment
- 10 full-time jobs per investor
- 20% of visas reserved for rural projects
- 10% reserved for high-unemployment areas
- 2% reserved for infrastructure
- Regional Center Program authorized through September 30, 2027
- Investment amounts adjust from January 1, 2027
- Spouse and unmarried children under 21 may be included
Our approach
Clarity first. Then the decision is yours.
EB-5 combines immigration law, securities and real-estate finance. EB5 Circle organises that complexity into clear explanations and consistently structured project information, so you can arrive at professional consultations with better questions.
Sourced explanations
Guides cite USCIS, the State Department and the statute, with review dates on every page.
Informed research
Project listings separate verified facts from details still pending, and always show material risks.
Honest boundaries
No guarantees, no invented track record — and no request for your financial documents.
Created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.
The program's purpose, as described by USCIS
Understanding EB-5
An immigrant visa earned through qualifying investment
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program allows a foreign national to seek U.S. permanent residence by investing in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers. A spouse and unmarried children under 21 may be included.
- Investment
- $1,050,000 standard, or $800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project. The capital must be at risk.
- Two pathways
- Invest through a USCIS-designated regional center (indirect jobs may count), or directly in your own enterprise (direct jobs only).
- The process
- A petition, then an immigrant visa or adjustment of status, then conditional residence and a petition to remove conditions.
- Lawful funds
- Every dollar must be traced to a lawful source — one of the most document-intensive parts of any EB-5 case.
Why professional advice matters: eligibility, filing strategy and project choice depend on your circumstances. This site is educational; it is not individualised legal, tax or investment advice.
The numbers
The figures that shape every EB-5 plan
Switch between the two investment levels, and explore how the annual supply of EB-5 visas is divided. Every figure comes from USCIS and the State Department.
Minimum investment
$800,000
For a project in a targeted employment area — a qualifying rural or high-unemployment area — or a qualifying infrastructure project.
- Jobs per investor
- 10
- Amounts adjust from
- January 1, 2027
Applies to petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022 and before the adjustment date. USCIS source
Annual EB-5 visa allocation
7.1%of all employment-based immigrant visas each year go to EB-5.
Within EB-5, the 2022 Act reserves a share for three project types. The rest is unreserved, where per-country limits can create waiting lines.
- 68% Unreserved
- 20% Rural projects
- 10% High-unemployment areas
- 2% Infrastructure
View as a table
| Category | Share of EB-5 visas |
|---|---|
| Unreserved | 68% |
| Rural projects | 20% |
| High-unemployment areas | 10% |
| Infrastructure | 2% |
Verified October 22, 2026.How reserved categories workCurrent Visa Bulletin
Explore projects
Structured information for every listing
Each listing presents the same facts in the same order — location, structure, investment terms, job methodology, capital stack and material risks — with the date it was last verified.
Project listings are being prepared
We publish a project only once its information has been checked against source documents. While listings are prepared, our due-diligence guide explains what to look for in any EB-5 offering.
Listings are informational and are not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Offerings are made only through the issuer's offering documents. EB-5 investments involve risk, including loss of principal.
Who EB-5 may be relevant for
Different families, different questions
EB-5 is one of several routes to U.S. permanent residence. Whether it fits depends on your goals, your family and your finances. Start with the guide closest to your situation.
EB-5 for Professionals
How eligible professionals may consider investment-based immigration alongside employer-sponsored categories, and what differs between them.
Read the guide
EB-5 for International Families
Who can be included as a derivative, what happens as children approach 21, and the relocation and residency questions to plan for.
Read the guide
EB-5 for Entrepreneurs
The difference between a qualifying EB-5 investment and ordinary business ownership — and when a direct investment may be relevant.
Read the guide
Across America
Capital that builds communities
EB-5 investment supports new commercial enterprises across the United States — from city-center developments to projects in rural communities.
New York
Miami- Austin
Seattle- Chicago
Illustrative photography of U.S. cities, credited on our image credits page. These are not EB-5 projects.
The EB-5 journey
Six broad stages, from first questions to permanent residence
The actual order, timing and filings vary with each investor's circumstances and with visa availability. No step guarantees approval of the next.
Clarify what you want residency to achieve for your family, and review eligibility, timing considerations and alternatives with a qualified immigration attorney.
Review the requirementsStep 1: Understand eligibility and goals
Clarify what you want residency to achieve for your family, and review eligibility, timing considerations and alternatives with a qualified immigration attorney.
Review the requirementsStep 2: Review projects and risks
Compare offerings on their structure, capital stack, job-creation cushion and material risks — and read the offering documents, not just the summary.
Questions to ask any sponsorStep 3: Prepare source-of-funds records
Assemble documentation showing that the investment capital was lawfully obtained and tracing how it moved to the investment.
Understand source of fundsStep 4: Invest and file with professionals
With your attorney and the issuer, complete the subscription and file the appropriate petition — Form I-526E for regional center investments or Form I-526 for direct investments.
See the filing stagesStep 5: Follow the immigration process
Depending on visa availability and where you live, continue through consular processing abroad or adjustment of status in the U.S., where concurrent filing may be available.
About concurrent filingStep 6: Complete the later steps
Conditional residence generally lasts 2 years. Investors then petition to remove conditions with Form I-829, showing the investment and job requirements were met.
Read the full process
Source of funds & due diligence
Two kinds of homework: your money, and the project
An EB-5 petition depends on documenting where your capital came from. The investment depends on understanding exactly what you are investing in. Both deserve time and qualified advice.
- Your documentation
Lawful source of funds
Evidence that the capital — including any gift or loan — was obtained through lawful means.
- Your documentation
Path of funds
A documented trail showing how the money moved from its source to the investment.
- Your documentation
Supporting financial records
Tax filings, bank records, sale agreements and similar documents, often going back many years.
- The project
Project offering documents
The private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, business plan and economic report.
- The project
Job-creation methodology
How jobs are estimated, which jobs count, and the cushion above the number required.
- The project
Capital structure & repayment
Where EB-5 capital sits in the capital stack, the exit strategy and redeployment terms.
- The project
Sponsor & management background
Track record, litigation history and the experience of the people controlling the funds.
- The project
Material risks & conflicts
Construction, market and immigration risks, fees and any relationships that create conflicts of interest.
Please note: EB5 Circle does not independently audit, approve or guarantee projects. Review offering documents with an immigration attorney and a licensed securities professional, and check any intermediary on FINRA BrokerCheck.
Two-minute self-check
Not sure where to begin?
Answer five quick questions and we'll point you to the guides most relevant to your situation. It's private — nothing leaves your browser.
Question 1 of 5
Where do you live today?
This affects how the final immigration steps usually work.
This self-check is educational. It does not assess eligibility, and your answers stay in your browser — nothing is stored or sent.
Why EB5 Circle
Built for careful decisions, not quick ones
We believe the best EB-5 decisions are slow, well-documented and made with qualified advisers. Everything on this platform is designed around that belief.
Clear educational resources
Guides that show their sources — and their dates.
Plain-language explanations that cite USCIS, the State Department and the statute, each marked with the date it was last reviewed.
Browse the guidesThe EB5 Circle Investor Guide
Everything to understand before you invest
Our guide, in plain language: timelines, costs, source of funds, project and regional center due diligence, job creation, capital structure, repayment and U.S. tax.
- Source of funds8 minEB-5 source of funds: a guide for Indian investors
- Project evaluation7 minHow to evaluate an EB-5 project before investing
- Project evaluation9 minUnderstanding EB-5 investment risk
- Visa availability6 minRural vs. high-unemployment-area EB-5 projects: how they compare
- Program updates5 minThe EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022
- Project evaluation5 minRegional center due diligence for EB-5 investors
- Planning7 minEB-5 planning for children: why age matters
- Filing strategy9 minEB-5 forms and the filing process: I-526E, I-526, I-956F, DS-260, I-485 and I-829
- Requirements7 minEB-5 job creation explained: the 10-job rule, direct and indirect jobs
- Source of funds7 minUsing gifts, loans or inheritance for EB-5
- Investment structure7 minThe EB-5 capital stack: where your investment sits and why it matters
- Investment structure8 minEB-5 exit strategies and capital repayment
- Tax & planning6 minU.S. tax obligations for EB-5 investors
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers, with sources
Short answers to the questions we hear most often. Each links to the official source behind it.
EB-5 is a U.S. immigrant visa category for foreign nationals who invest a required amount in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers. If the petition is approved and a visa is available, the investor and eligible family members may obtain conditional permanent residence. See the EB-5 program overview.
For petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022, the minimum is $1,050,000, or $800,000 for an investment in a targeted employment area (TEA) or a qualifying infrastructure project. These amounts are scheduled for their first inflation adjustment for petitions filed on or after January 1, 2027; official adjusted amounts had not been published when this page was last reviewed. See the 2027 adjustment.
The statute provides for the minimum amounts to be adjusted for petitions filed on or after January 1, 2027, and then every five years, based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). As of the last review of this page, the adjusted figures had not been officially published, so please confirm them directly with USCIS. Timing questions for your own filing are best discussed with a qualified U.S. immigration attorney.
Source: USCIS: EB-5 What's New
A TEA is either a rural area (outside a metropolitan statistical area and outside any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more) or a high-unemployment area (census tract(s) with unemployment at least 150% of the national average unemployment rate). Investing in a TEA project allows the reduced minimum investment. Since the 2022 Act, USCIS rather than state governments makes TEA determinations.
Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 may obtain status as derivatives of your case. A child who turns 21 during the process may lose eligibility unless an age protection applies, which depends on specific facts and dates. See planning for children and age and consult a qualified U.S. immigration attorney.
Yes. Investors must show that the invested capital was obtained through lawful means and generally document how it moved to the investment. Typical evidence can include tax returns, employment or business records, property sale documents and bank records. See our source of funds guide.
Gifts and loans can be lawful sources of EB-5 capital when properly documented. For gifts, the donor's own lawful source is generally relevant. A loan used for the investment generally may not be secured by the assets of the business being invested in. See gifted and borrowed funds.
Your next step
Make Your Next Step an Informed One.
Start by understanding your options, reviewing the available information, and identifying the questions that matter most to your circumstances.
Consultations are informational. EB5 Circle does not provide legal, tax or investment advice; where appropriate we can help you identify qualified professionals.