IN THIS GUIDE · A gift from a parent, and why the donor's own records end up inside the investor's file
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
The amount depends on where the project sits, and the designation is not a marketing claim
Qualifying capital is US$1,050,000, reduced to US$800,000 where the investment is in a targeted employment area or an infrastructure project, under the framework enacted in 2022. Because these figures and the rules around them are subject to adjustment, they should be re-verified against the current official material before any commitment. The reduced amount is the reason most offerings describe themselves as targeted-employment-area projects, and that description is a legal designation resting on unemployment or rural criteria rather than a sales point. Hartley should ask for the evidence behind the designation and confirm how it was obtained, since paying the lower amount into a project that does not hold the designation is a defect the investor carries, not the promoter.
A gift is acceptable capital, and the donor becomes part of the record
Lawful source and path of funds is examined closely, and gifted money is examined at one further remove. It is not enough to show that Hartley's mother transferred the money and that the gift was genuine, with no obligation to repay. The file must also show how she lawfully acquired what she gave: in this scenario the purchase and sale of the property, the closing statements, the discharge of any mortgage, the tax treatment of the sale, and the movement of proceeds through her accounts in the years since. Where a gift crosses currencies or accounts, each step needs a document. Undocumented transfers, rather than the fact of a gift, are what stall these files.
Company money is not automatically the shareholder's money
Retained earnings sitting inside Hartley's contracting company belong to the company. To use them he must extract them properly, and the mechanism chosen has documentary and tax consequences on both sides of the border. A dividend, a shareholder loan repayment, a salary or a sale of assets each produces a different record, and each must be traceable from the company's accounts through his own to the investment. Corporate resolutions, financial statements and tax filings all form part of the evidence. Deciding this with an accountant before the transfer, rather than reconstructing it afterwards from bank statements, is the difference between a straightforward source-of-funds narrative and an argument.
Ten jobs, participation, and a conditional period that has to be discharged
Ten or more full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers have to result from the investment, and the investor must be engaged in the management or policy formulation of the enterprise rather than holding a purely passive stake, though a limited partner or comparable role can satisfy that requirement. Approval leads to two years of conditional permanent residence for Hartley, his spouse and any unmarried children under twenty-one. Before that period ends, Form I-829 must be filed to remove the conditions, and it is at that stage that the capital, the jobs and the sustained investment are examined. A project that looks attractive at entry but cannot evidence jobs two years later is a problem deferred, not avoided.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.