IN THIS GUIDE · Separate available capital from a home-sale contingency
Label the funding components honestly
Hypothetical example: a household has liquid funds but expects to use a future home sale for the rest of an investment. Identify what is available now, what is conditional and what records would establish the sale proceeds. Do not treat an asking price as completed funding. Use a funding table with columns for cash on hand, liquidatable assets, contingent proceeds and fees. That distinction prevents a planned sale from being described as invested capital before the sale, transfer and investment actually occur.
Trace capital from origin through investment
Provide records explaining acquisition, any relevant financing, sale proceeds and transfers as applicable to the real funding history. Keep professional and administrative charges separate from qualifying capital. Confirm the current investment threshold and the actual proposed structure before relying on an amount. A source narrative should be chronological and supported by third-party records where available. Large unexplained deposits, circular transfers or a missing donor history can create a gap even if the account balance is sufficient.
Review the project’s job evidence
Determine whether the proposal is standalone or through a regional center and assess the appropriate job-creation method. Generally ten qualifying jobs are required. A projected job total needs its supporting basis; it is not established by the household’s ability to fund the investment. Decide early whether the project relies on direct jobs or an authorized regional-center methodology, because the evidence is assembled differently. Job projections must be tied to the project model rather than copied from a sales presentation.
Assess risk and family timing separately
Commercial performance, repayment, immigration approval and visa availability are different uncertainties. Review family eligibility and any CSPA question using actual dates. Do not assume a property-sale deadline or petition filing freezes a child’s age or guarantees residence on a chosen schedule. Conditional residence is a residence stage with its own documentation and timing, not a refund date or commercial exit point. Families should evaluate travel, school and age-sensitive questions from actual immigration dates instead of a projected construction calendar.
Use the current capital, job and residence conditions
As checked September 7, 2026, the standard capital minimum is US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project. Statutory adjustments begin January 1, 2027; confirm the filing-date amount. At least ten qualifying permanent full-time jobs are required, with the applicable standalone or regional-center method assessed. The investor petition does not itself grant residence: the applicable immigrant-visa or adjustment process follows. Conditional residence then requires removal of conditions, with Form I-829 generally filed in the 90 days before its second anniversary. Confirm the filing-date capital rules and document how the enterprise will preserve the required investment and jobs through the conditions stage. Commercial risk remains real; immigration analysis cannot guarantee a project’s performance or repayment.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.