IN THIS GUIDE · Counting ten real jobs in a business you run yourself, rather than buying a share of somebody else's count
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Which amount applies, and the date on which the numbers change
The qualifying investment is US$1,050,000, reduced to US$800,000 where the enterprise is principally doing business in a targeted employment area, meaning a rural area or one of high unemployment as the statute defines those terms, or where the case qualifies as an infrastructure project. Statutory adjustment of both figures begins on 1 January 2027, so the amount that governs is the one in force when the petition is filed rather than the one quoted in a conversation months earlier. For a direct investment the location is Bettina's own choice, which means the designation is something she can plan around rather than accept, and it should be assessed on the data before a site is committed to.
Ten jobs, and the rules about who is allowed to be counted
The requirement is at least ten full-time positions for qualifying employees, created and maintained in connection with the investment. Full-time means at least thirty-five hours a week, so two part-time roles do not combine into one job unless they are a genuine job-sharing arrangement. A qualifying employee is a United States citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or another immigrant authorized to work in the country, which excludes the investor, her spouse, her sons and daughters, and anybody holding a nonimmigrant status. In a direct investment only positions in the enterprise itself count. The indirect and induced jobs produced by economic modelling are available to investors in regional centre projects and are not available to her, which makes a distillery's headcount arithmetic the whole case.
Source and path, when the money comes out of a company she still owns
Lawful source and path of funds is examined in detail, and capital extracted from an existing business creates a longer chain than a salary does. Bettina will need the incorporation records and share register showing how she came to hold her interest, evidence of what she originally contributed, several years of financial statements and tax returns showing the distillery earned what it says it earned, the mechanism by which value is being taken out, whether a share redemption, a dividend or the sale of part of her holding, the tax treatment of that step, and bank records following the proceeds into the American enterprise. Where a co-owner is buying her out, the agreement and its valuation belong in the file as well.
Engagement, two conditional years, and the filing that ends them
The investor must be engaged in the enterprise through management or policy formulation rather than holding a purely passive interest, which for somebody running a production company is straightforward and should still be evidenced with titles, decisions and signatures. On approval and admission or adjustment, she and her qualifying family members receive conditional permanent residence for two years, and Form I-829 is filed to remove those conditions, generally in the ninety days before the second anniversary of obtaining that status. The capital must remain invested and at risk across the period, and the jobs must be shown to exist when the conditions are examined. A distillery whose first spirit is still maturing has revenue timing to think about alongside its hiring plan.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.