Lawyer, Family Office
EB-5 is the only passive route to a US green card: no employer and no achievements dossier — just an investment and a clean source of funds. After the 2022 RIA reform the programme became more predictable: fixed thresholds, investor protections and reserved quotas that route around multi-year queues.
Thresholds and Mechanics
The base investment is $1,050,000; in TEA zones (rural areas and high-unemployment districts) — $800,000. The investment must create 10 jobs. Two formats: direct investment into your own business, or — in the vast majority of cases — via a licensed regional center, where jobs are counted through the project’s economic model. First comes a conditional 2-year green card, then the I-829 petition removes conditions based on the jobs actually created.
The Reform’s Key Manoeuvre: Set-Asides and Concurrent Filing
The RIA reserved quotas: 20% of visas for rural projects, 10% for high-unemployment zones, 2% for infrastructure. For India- and China-born investors this is a revolution: the set-aside categories currently carry no backlog, while the standard category stretches for years. The second gift is concurrent filing: from lawful status inside the US you can file the I-526E and I-485 together — and wait with a work permit and travel document rather than waiting for petition approval first.
The Risks Brokers Skip
The investment is not a fee to the state but a stake in a real project (usually development): capital return depends on the project’s success and typically takes 5–7 years. Choosing the regional center and project is an investment decision, not an immigration formality: look at the capital stack, collateral, the developer’s track record and the job cushion. And remember taxes: a green card brings worldwide US taxation from day one — restructure assets before the status.
This material is an expert overview, not individual legal advice.