IN THIS GUIDE · Verifying the reduced investment category
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Verify the basis for the amount
The current standard investment level is US$1,050,000, with US$800,000 for qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure investments. Identify the precise category being claimed. A lower-priced subscription or a promoter’s rural description is not sufficient evidence. Ask counsel to examine the applicable statutory definition and project records rather than treating every regional-centre investment as eligible for the reduced level.
Examine the supporting geography
For an area-based claim, obtain the project location and the analysis supporting the relevant designation. The investor’s Canadian address has no effect on that determination. Review the enterprise’s actual activities and where qualifying jobs are created as required. Avoid inferring eligibility from a scenic photograph, a small town name or a comparison with another project in the same state.
Keep infrastructure claims distinct
The infrastructure category has its own legal requirements and should not be used as a casual description of any construction investment. Obtain the actual project structure and supporting governmental arrangements for counsel’s review. Construction activity alone does not resolve category eligibility. Keep the explanation tied to the investment documents rather than adopting a promotional label as a legal conclusion.
Recheck rules at the relevant date
Capital requirements depend on the applicable filing rules, and current law provides for future adjustments. A quote used during early research may become unsuitable for a later filing. Confirm the required amount and category evidence before committing to the final petition strategy. Budget fees separately, because paying additional administration charges does not automatically cure a shortfall in qualifying capital.
Separate the promoter’s role from your adviser’s
Several parties will describe the same project and none of them work for you by default. The regional centre promotes the offering. The issuer prepares the documents. A migration agent may be paid by the project. Your own counsel is engaged by you and owes you the analysis. Write down which is which before reading a single marketing page, and note who pays each of them. Hypothetical example: a project builds a packaging automation plant and its promoter describes the site as rural. That description may be accurate, promotional, or simply out of date. The question your adviser answers is whether the applicable definition is met on the evidence, at the relevant time. Ask for the documents rather than the conclusions: the offering materials, the economic analysis, the project location and the enterprise structure. A promoter is entitled to present its project favourably. Responsibility for verifying eligibility stays with you and your counsel.
Keep the investor’s obligations distinct from the project’s
Two sets of requirements run in parallel and each has its own owner. The project must be a new commercial enterprise in which capital is placed at risk and through which the required jobs are created — generally ten full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers. The investor must show a lawful source of the capital, must engage in the enterprise, and must later petition to remove conditions. A strong project does not answer the source-of-funds question, and complete personal documentation does not repair a project that fails on jobs. Track the two lists separately and ask, for each item, which party holds the evidence. Note where the timeline crosses back. Status begins as conditional permanent residence, and the later petition depends on what the project actually did. Permanent residence is not citizenship, and a derivative child must be unmarried and under 21.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.