EB5 Investment Options
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program offers two ways to structure a qualifying investment: direct investment in a business you manage, or investment through a USCIS-designated regional center. Both EB5 investment options lead to the same green card petition process.
The right choice comes down to three things: how you want to deploy capital, how much day-to-day involvement you can sustain, and which projects are open to you.
Your EB5 Visa Investment Options at a Glance
Both EB5 visa investment options share the same federal framework:
Minimum investment:
$800,000 in a USCIS-designated Targeted Employment Area (TEA); $1,050,000 everywhere else. Set by statute under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(5)).
Same petition sequence
Investment petition → conditional green card (2 years) → I-829 petition to remove conditions. USCIS verifies job creation at the I-829 stage, and every stage involves independent USCIS review.
Job creation:
Each investment must support at least 10 qualifying full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
At-risk capital:
Your funds must be placed at risk in a qualifying commercial enterprise. EB-5 is a risk-capital program; your principal may not be returned.
What differs between the two pathways is who runs the business, how the 10 jobs are counted, and how much documentation falls on you. That comparison is next.
EB5 Direct Investment
EB5 direct investment means placing capital into a U.S. business that you actively manage or help direct. You are not a passive investor.
- Only direct W-2 jobs created by your enterprise count toward the 10-job requirement.
- Since the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, one investor per direct project: the full minimum investment must come from you alone.
- You carry the documentation load: lawful source and path of funds, proof of active involvement, and W-2 job tracking through the I-829 stage.
- Best fit: investors who want to own and operate a U.S. business and have the time to run it.
In FY2024, fewer than 6% of EB-5 petitions used the direct pathway (source: sweb5.com/articles/eb-5-data-2024/).
EB5 Visa Regional Centers
EB5 visa regional centers are USCIS-designated organizations authorized to pool capital from multiple investors into a qualifying commercial project. Investors do not manage day-to-day operations.
The 10-job requirement can be met with direct, indirect, and induced jobs, projected under a USCIS-accepted economic model (RIMS II or IMPLAN).
That broader job counting is why over 94% of FY2024 EB-5 petitions went through regional centers (source: sweb5.com/articles/eb-5-data-2024/).
Polaris EB-5 Regional Centers operate USCIS-designated regional centers across California, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, and Louisiana.
Investor capital is placed into escrow before release. Escrow governs the timing of capital release; it does not protect the outcome of your investment or petition.
Your capital is at risk, as it is in any EB-5 investment. Job figures are projections; actual job creation is verified at the I-829 stage. Full details: EB-5 Regional Centers page.
Direct Investment vs. Regional Centers: Side by Side
| EB5 Direct Investment | EB5 Visa Regional Centers | |
|---|---|---|
| Your role | Own and actively manage the business | Passive investor; operator runs the project |
| Jobs that count | Direct W-2 jobs only | Direct + indirect + induced (RIMS II / IMPLAN) |
| Investors per project | One (full amount from you alone) | Multiple investors pooled |
| Minimum investment | $800,000 TEA / $1,050,000 standard | $800,000 TEA / $1,050,000 standard |
| Petition filed | I-526 | I-526E |
| Documentation on you | Source of funds + business operations + W-2 tracking | Source and path of funds; project documentation handled by the regional center |
| FY2024 share of petitions | Under 6% | Over 94% |
| I-526/I-526E denial rate (FY2024) | Nearly 27% | Below 2% |
| Best fit | You want to run your own U.S. business | You want a managed, documented structure |
FY2024 figures: sweb5.com/articles/eb-5-data-2024/. The denial-rate gap reflects the heavier documentation and active-management burden of direct investment, not a judgment on either pathway.
Invest by Industry
EB-5 capital flows into a range of commercial sectors. Polaris covers three; each has its own job-creation basis and project structure.
EB5 Real Estate Investment
The most common EB-5 sector. In a typical EB5 real estate investment:
- Projects: hotel construction, multifamily residential, mixed-use development.
- Jobs: construction employment, counted under USCIS-accepted economic models.
- Structure: investors fund a New Commercial Enterprise (NCE) that lends or invests into the project's Job-Creating Entity (JCE). Investors do not hold title to the property.
EB5 Healthcare Investment
An EB5 healthcare investment qualifies through operational job creation: clinical staff, administrative personnel, and support roles.
- Polaris has one active healthcare project: the Sacramento PACE Center, an adult day health and medical care program for older adults in California.
- PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) is a federally recognized care model.
- The founders bring operational backgrounds in pharmacy, electronic health records, pharmacy automation, and medical staffing.
EB5 Technology Investment
An EB5 technology investment works when the company creates jobs through ongoing operations, including engineering, sales, and administrative roles.
- Strongest cases: companies with an established revenue history and a documented hiring plan.
- Early-stage startups without revenue face a harder job-creation case under USCIS standards.
- Regional center job counting (indirect + induced) can support technology petitions where W-2 headcount alone would fall short.
What to Do Next
The pathway that fits you depends on whether you want to operate a U.S. business yourself or invest through a managed structure, and on which projects are currently accepting capital. A Polaris specialist will walk you through the current investment structures and help you identify the pathway that fits your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
$800,000 for projects in a USCIS-designated Targeted Employment Area (TEA) and $1,050,000 for all other projects, set by statute under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. The amounts are the same for both EB5 investment options. Your capital is at risk in either case.
EB5 direct investment requires you to actively manage the business and create at least 10 direct W-2 jobs yourself. A regional center pools capital from multiple investors, counts indirect and induced jobs toward the requirement, and does not require you to manage operations.
Regional centers use USCIS-accepted economic models (RIMS II or IMPLAN) to project direct, indirect, and induced jobs from the project's spending and operations. Job figures are projections; USCIS verifies actual job creation at the I-829 stage.
Yes. Healthcare facilities and technology companies can serve as EB-5 job-creating entities if they meet USCIS job-creation and structure requirements. The specific project and its economic methodology matter more than the sector. Polaris has one active healthcare project, the Sacramento PACE Center, and covers real estate and technology through its regional center network.
You apply for a conditional green card through consular processing abroad or adjustment of status in the U.S. if you hold a valid status. The conditional green card lasts for 2 years; you then file an I-829 petition to remove conditions, and USCIS reviews whether the job-creation requirements have been met. Each stage involves an independent USCIS review.
For a full overview of the EB-5 program structure, visit our EB-5 Program page.