IN THIS GUIDE · When borrowed money counts as the investor's own capital at risk
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
The security has to sit on his assets, not on the enterprise
The distinction that decides this is what the lender can seize. A mortgage over Terrence's own home leaves the bank looking to him and to his property. A loan secured against the assets of the new commercial enterprise, or repayable only from its returns, effectively puts the enterprise's own money at stake rather than his, and that does not count as the investor's capital. The evidence must therefore show the security instrument itself, the property it charges, and that no charge, guarantee or assignment reaches the enterprise. A general corporate guarantee tucked into a facility agreement is a common and unwelcome discovery late in the process.
Personal and primary liability has to appear on the face of the documents
It is not enough that Terrence intends to repay the loan. The loan agreement should name him as borrower, without a structure in which another party is liable first, and without a limitation of recourse. Where the mill company is the borrower and Terrence merely guarantees, the position is different and needs advice. The file should contain the executed loan agreement, the mortgage registration, the amortization schedule and evidence of payments actually made from his own income. Together these prove that the risk of the borrowing rests on him, which is what makes the borrowed funds his capital.
The other half still needs a lawful source and a traceable path
Retained earnings in a sawmill are not self-explaining. The evidence should show the company's financial statements and tax filings over several years, the resolution declaring any dividend, the personal tax treatment of that dividend, and the bank movements carrying it into the investment account. Where the mill was itself financed or inherited, that history may need explaining too. Source of funds is proved by a continuous documentary chain rather than by a statement of belief, and gaps in the chain are the single most common reason these files stall.
The investment amount, the jobs and the conditional period are separate proofs
Qualifying capital is US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 where the investment is in a targeted employment area or an infrastructure project, under the 2022 Reform and Integrity Act, with a statutory adjustment beginning January 1, 2027; the current terms should be verified before any money moves. The investment must create at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers, and Terrence must be engaged in management or policy formulation rather than holding a purely passive interest. Approval leads to two-year conditional permanent residence, followed by Form I-829 to remove the conditions, generally filed in the ninety days before the second anniversary of obtaining conditional residence.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.