EB-5 visa for immigrant investors

• Passports and birth certificates for you, your spouse and each child.
• Proof of the investment: subscription agreement, wire records and the new commercial enterprise's documents.
• The path of the funds: every transfer from the original source to the U.S. business, and who sent each transfer into the U.S.
• Lawful source: personal tax returns filed in any country for the past 7 years, business registration records and company tax returns.
• Certified copies of any judgments, and records of pending civil, criminal or administrative actions involving money claims against you.
• For gifted or borrowed funds: the same lawful-source evidence for the donor, or for the lender if it is not a bank.
• From Turkey: tapu records and sale contracts for property you sold, Turkish tax returns and bank statements, each with a certified English translation.
• Business plan and job evidence; for a direct investment, payroll records once the jobs exist.

• Funds whose lawful source cannot be traced step by step, including cash, informal transfers, or gifts without the donor's records.
• A promised fixed return, or a contractual right to repayment: capital invested on those terms does not count (USCIS).
• A loan to the business: capital invested in exchange for a note, bond or other debt from the new commercial enterprise does not count (USCIS).
• Too few jobs: a direct investment must create 10 full-time jobs itself, and part-time jobs added together do not count.
• Missing the I-829 window: if you do not file in the 90 days before the 2-year anniversary, USCIS terminates conditional residence unless it excuses a late filing for good cause.
• Changing rules: fees change on 30 November 2026, investment amounts adjust on 1 January 2027, and the Regional Center Program is authorized only through 30 September 2027.
• Visa waiting lines that differ by country of birth; check the Visa Bulletin, especially for China.
• Project risk: the capital must be at risk and can be lost.

• You want to run your own business with a smaller investment: Turkish citizens can use E-2, because Turkey is on the State Department's E-2 treaty list. See E-2 for Turkish investors.
• You cannot yet document where the money came from: build the paper trail first.
• You need to start work in the U.S. soon: EB-5 timing depends on USCIS and visa availability, and E-2 or L-1 may fit the near term.
• You have extraordinary ability or a national-interest project: EB-1A or EB-2 NIW do not require an investment.

Who this is for

• Investors who can commit at least the minimum amount and can document that the money came from lawful sources.
• Families who want permanent residence for the investor, the spouse and unmarried children under 21.
• People who accept that the investment is at risk and may lose value.

Key requirements

• The minimum investment is $800,000 in a targeted employment area (a rural area, or one with unemployment of at least 150% of the national average; this includes infrastructure projects) and $1,050,000 elsewhere. The first inflation adjustment applies to petitions filed on or after 1 January 2027.
• The investment must create full-time positions (at least 35 hours a week) for at least 10 qualifying employees: U.S. citizens, permanent residents or other immigrants authorized to work. The investor's own family and workers in nonimmigrant status do not count.
• The capital must be at risk. A promised return, a right to repayment or a loan to the business does not count. For petitions filed on or after 15 March 2022, the capital must be expected to stay invested for at least 2 years.
• Regional center investors may meet up to 90% of the job requirement with indirect jobs. Congress authorized the Regional Center Program through 30 September 2027.
• Each fiscal year, 20% of EB-5 visas are set aside for rural areas, 10% for high-unemployment areas and 2% for infrastructure projects.

What to check with an attorney

• Whether the project, the job count and the exit terms are real and documented.
• Whether every transfer, from the original source to the U.S., is traceable.
• How the Visa Bulletin for your country of birth affects timing.
• That the investment is at risk, and that approval is not assured.

Fees and rules reviewed 16 Oct 2026. Sources below.

Official sources:

1. USCIS: About the EB-5 visa classification (reviewed 18 Nov 2025)
2. USCIS: Form G-1055, fee schedule (edition 10/16/26)
3. Federal Register: EB-5 Fee Rule, 91 FR 61940 (30 Sep 2026; effective 30 Nov 2026)
4. USCIS: Form I-829, when to file
5. USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 2: petition eligibility
6. USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 7: removal of conditions
7. USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 3: concurrent filing
8. 22 CFR 22.1: State Department fee schedule (eCFR)
9. 8 CFR 216.6: removing conditions for investors (eCFR)
10. State Department: treaty countries (E-1 and E-2)
11. 9 FAM 402.9: treaty traders and investors
12. USCIS: case processing times
13. USCIS: Form I-526E

What changed: added the current USCIS fees, the new fees from 30 November 2026, the 2027 inflation adjustment, job and capital rules, documents, risks and the E-2 or EB-5 comparison.