IN THIS GUIDE · An investor whose capital arrives in instalments from a partnership buyout
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Committed or promised: the distinction the whole case turns on
EB-5 requires the qualifying capital to be invested, or actively in the process of being invested, and irrevocably committed to the new commercial enterprise. Money Grigor expects to receive under a buyout agreement is a contractual entitlement, not committed capital. Until a tranche is paid to him and then placed at risk in the enterprise, it counts for nothing, and an escrow arrangement that lets him take the money back is not commitment either. The practical consequence is a sequencing decision: either wait until the buyout has been paid out far enough to fund the whole required amount, or plan the filing around what is genuinely committed when the petition is made.
The document that usually decides it: the source and path record
Lawful source of funds and the path those funds travelled are the most heavily examined part of an investor petition, and in Grigor's case the buyout agreement is the hinge document. It has to show who is paying, on what terms, for what interest, and on what schedule, and it must be consistent with the sawmill's own records. Behind it sit his original acquisition of the partnership interest, the mill's tax filings, and evidence that the partners' payment money is itself lawful. A single agreement drafted informally between people who have worked together for twenty years is common in family businesses and is exactly the document that will be read hardest.
Amount, jobs and the investor's own role
The qualifying investment is US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 where the enterprise is principally doing business in a targeted employment area or is an infrastructure project, under the 2022 Reform and Integrity Act, with a statutory adjustment beginning January 1, 2027, so current terms must be re-verified before any decision. The investment must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers. Grigor must also be engaged in the enterprise, either in management or in policy formulation, which a regional-center limited partnership interest can satisfy differently from a direct investment he runs himself. Choosing between those two structures changes what his daily involvement has to look like.
Conditional residence and the second filing
Approval leads to two years of conditional permanent residence for Grigor, his spouse and any unmarried children under 21. Removing the conditions requires Form I-829, generally filed in the ninety days before the second anniversary of obtaining conditional residence, supported by evidence that the capital remained invested and that the required jobs were created or will be created within a reasonable time. The tranche structure follows him into that filing, because the record must show the full qualifying amount sustained in the enterprise, not merely deposited and later withdrawn. Anyone treating the initial approval as the finish line will find the second filing unexpectedly demanding.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.