IN THIS GUIDE · Funding an immigrant investment from the sale of a professional practice, where the money is real but the paper trail is the work
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Which threshold applies, and the adjustment already on the calendar
The standard qualifying investment is US$1,050,000. A reduced amount of US$800,000 applies where the investment is made in a qualifying targeted employment area, meaning a rural area or one of high unemployment, or in a qualifying infrastructure project. Those figures are subject to statutory adjustment, with the first adjustment taking effect from 1 January 2027, so anyone planning across that date should confirm the operative amount rather than relying on a figure quoted last year. The designation is not a matter of description. Whether a project sits in a targeted employment area is determined against the statutory criteria on evidence, and a sponsor's marketing claim is a starting point for verification, never a substitute for it.
Lawful source and lawful path are two separate proofs
Source explains how Yolande came to own the money; path shows every account it passed through on the way to the investment. A practice sale complicates both in familiar ways. Goodwill allocated in a purchase agreement has to be tied to a business she lawfully built, evidenced by years of financial statements and tax filings rather than by the allocation itself. A promissory note is a promise, not cash, so instalments not yet received cannot be presented as invested capital. Where borrowing is used, the loan must be secured by assets she owns and for which she is personally liable, and the security cannot be the assets of the enterprise being invested in. Every transfer between accounts, including foreign exchange conversions, needs a statement behind it.
At least ten full-time jobs, counted for qualifying employees
The investment must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying employees per investor, and full-time here means a minimum of thirty-five hours a week. Qualifying employees are United States citizens, lawful permanent residents and other immigrants authorized to work; the investor, the investor's spouse and children, and non-immigrants do not count. In a direct investment those positions must be actual employees of the new commercial enterprise. Where the investment is made through a designated regional centre, indirect and induced jobs may be counted according to a reasonable economic methodology. The distinction changes what Yolande has to prove at the end of the process, so it should be understood at the outset rather than discovered when the conditions come to be removed.
Two years on conditions, and what engagement in the business means
Approval leads to conditional permanent residence granted for two years, with Form I-829 filed in the 90 days before the second anniversary to remove the conditions by showing that the capital was invested, sustained and put to work, and that the required jobs were created or will be within a reasonable time. Throughout, the investor must be engaged in the enterprise, either through day-to-day managerial responsibility or through policy formulation; a purely passive holding does not qualify, although the rights ordinarily held by a limited partner are accepted as sufficient policy involvement in regional centre structures. Yolande should decide early which of those two roles she wants, because one implies moving to run a business and the other does not.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.
- USCIS: EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
- 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5), employment creation immigrants and capital adjustment provisions
- USCIS: Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status
- USCIS: Child Status Protection Act
- U.S. Department of State: Visa Bulletin
- USCIS: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule