Investor green card
A green card for your family through investment
Invest in a US business that creates 10 full-time jobs. You, your spouse and your unmarried children under 21 can get green cards. No employer or job offer is needed. Your money must be at risk.
- Standard minimum
- $1,050,000
- Targeted area minimum
- $800,000
- Jobs to create
- 10 full-time
- Legal fee from
- $30,000
What you get
Permanent residence without an employer
EB-5 is a green card route based on your investment. You do not need a job offer, a degree or an employer to sponsor you. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come with you.
You first get a two-year conditional green card. Near the end of those two years, you file to remove the conditions. You show that you kept the money invested and that the business created, or will create in a reasonable time, the 10 jobs.
If you are already in the US and a visa is available for you, you can file for your green card at the same time as your investor petition. While it is pending, you can ask for a work permit and a travel permit.
A partner-firm attorney confirms your eligibility before anything is filed. No one can promise approval. Only USCIS decides.
How much
Minimum investment today
Set by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, for petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022.
| Where you invest | Minimum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Anywhere in the US | $1,050,000 | The standard amount. |
| Rural area | $800,000 | Outside a metropolitan statistical area and outside any city or town of 20,000 or more people. |
| High unemployment area | $800,000 | An area with unemployment of at least 150% of the national average. |
| Infrastructure project | $800,000 | A capital project run by a government body that is the job-creating entity. |
These amounts are set to change for petitions filed on or after January 1, 2027, based on inflation, and every five years after that. The USCIS page we checked in September 2026 did not yet list the new amounts. Your attorney confirms the figure for your filing date.
The rules
What has to be true
These come from USCIS and the USCIS Policy Manual. Every item must be met.
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You invest in a new commercial enterprise
A for-profit US business, formed after November 29, 1990.
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Your money is at risk
You must be able to lose it and hope to gain. A guaranteed return does not count, to the extent it is guaranteed.
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You can show where the money came from
Every dollar must come from a lawful source. Gifts and borrowed money are allowed if they were made in good faith and obtained lawfully. A loan only counts if assets you own secure it and you are personally responsible for it.
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The business creates 10 full-time jobs
At least 10 full-time jobs (35 hours a week or more) for qualifying employees: US citizens, green card holders and certain other work-authorized immigrants, not you or your family. In a regional center project, up to 90% of the jobs can be created indirectly.
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You keep the money invested
Your investment is expected to stay in for at least 2 years, counted from when the full amount is invested and at risk.
Two ways to invest
Direct investment or a regional center
Direct investment (Form I-526)
You invest in your own business or a business you choose directly. The jobs must be direct employees of that business.
Regional center (Form I-526E)
You invest through a project connected to a USCIS-designated regional center. Up to 90% of the jobs can be indirect. Congress has authorized visas for this program through September 30, 2027.
Reserved visas
Each year, 20% of EB-5 visas are reserved for rural investments, 10% for high unemployment areas, and 2% for infrastructure projects. USCIS must give priority to rural petitions.
The process
From investment to a permanent green card
Processing times vary by form, and they change. Check the USCIS processing times page. Even after approval, you may wait for a visa number if many people from your country apply. The Visa Bulletin shows where the line is each month.
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Attorney review
A partner-firm attorney looks at your funds, their source, and the investment you are considering.
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Invest and document
You invest, or are actively investing, the required amount and place it at risk. Your attorney builds the paper trail for your source of funds.
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File Form I-526 or I-526E
Times varyIf you are in the US and a visa is available, you can file Form I-485 at the same time.
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Get your conditional green card
After approval, you either adjust status in the US or apply for an immigrant visa abroad through the State Department. You get a two-year conditional green card.
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File Form I-829
Year 2File in the 90 days before the second anniversary of your conditional residence. You show the investment was kept and the jobs were created or will be soon.
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Conditions removed
If USCIS approves, you become a permanent resident without conditions.
What it costs
Government fees and our legal fee
USCIS fees as of September 2026. After a court order, EB-5 fees went back to their pre-April 2024 levels in November 2025.
| Fee | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Form I-526 (direct investment) | $3,675 | |
| Form I-526E (regional center) | $3,675 plus $1,000 | The extra $1,000 is required by the 2022 law for a first I-526E. |
| Form I-485 (if you apply in the US) | $1,440 | Paper filing, per person age 14 or older. A child under 14 filing with a parent pays $950. |
| Form I-829 (remove conditions) | $3,750 | |
| Premium processing | Not offered | EB-5 forms are not on the USCIS premium processing list. |
| Our legal fee | From $30,000 | Standard $30,000. Higher tier $50,000. Flat fee, set before you sign. |
Government fees from USCIS Form G-1055, edition 09/09/26. Fees change, so your attorney checks them again before filing. Your investment itself is separate from all fees. State Department fees apply if you process abroad. Also paid separately: translations, document gathering and expert letters.
How we help
What your legal fee includes
Green Card Guide is not a law firm. Licensed attorneys at an independent partner firm do all legal work, under a separate agreement. Frank, our extraordinary ability partner, does not cover EB-5.
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A senior attorney leads your case
With a written legal strategy memo for your situation.
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A second attorney reviews it
Every petition gets a second review before it goes out.
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Preparation and filing
Including the source-of-funds evidence.
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RFE or NOID response if one comes
On cases the partner firm filed, at no extra legal fee.
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Unlimited communication
With your case team, plus a case portal to follow each step.
FAQ
Questions people ask us
No. It must be at risk to qualify. A guaranteed return does not count, to the extent it is guaranteed. Any promise of guaranteed repayment is a warning sign to discuss with your attorney.
Yes, if the gift or loan was made in good faith and the money was obtained lawfully. A loan only counts if it is secured by assets you own, you are personally responsible for paying it back, and the business you invest in does not secure it. Money you put in for a note or other debt from the business does not count. You still need to show where it came from.
It is set to change for petitions filed on or after January 1, 2027, based on inflation. The amount that applies depends on when you file. Your attorney confirms the current figure.
Your spouse and your unmarried children under 21 can get green cards as part of your case.
If you are in the US and file Form I-485, you can apply for a work permit and a travel permit while it is pending.
At the I-829 stage, USCIS checks whether the jobs were created, or will be created within a reasonable time. Its policy generally accepts jobs that will exist within one year after the second anniversary of your conditional green card. Jobs expected more than three years after you got your conditional green card usually do not count, unless there are extreme circumstances. Your attorney reviews the project’s job plan early.
Sources · checked September 2026
- USCIS: About the EB-5 Visa Classification (updated 11/18/2025)
- USCIS: EB-5 Immigrant Investor Process (updated 11/18/2025)
- USCIS: EB-5 Questions and Answers
- USCIS: Green Card for Immigrant Investors (updated 07/08/2025)
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 1
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 2
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 7
- USCIS Form G-1055, Fee Schedule, edition 09/09/26 (PDF)
- USCIS: I-829 form page (updated 06/01/2026)
- USCIS: Visa Availability and Priority Dates
- USCIS: Case Processing Times
- eCFR: 8 CFR 204.6 (definitions of capital, invest, full-time employment, qualifying employee)
- USCIS alert: Additional Guidance for EB-5 Required Investment Timeframe (Oct 11, 2023)
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; a partner-firm attorney confirms what applies to you before anything is filed.
