Ask for the economic-impact study itself, its methodology, the assumptions behind direct, indirect and induced job counts, and how the study would be updated if construction or business operations differ from the plan, rather than relying on a summary slide showing only the total job figure.
Read the methodology before the headline number
Identify who prepared the study and what economic model it uses, and ask what evidence the regional center will provide later if the project underperforms the study's assumptions. Keep the job-creation documentation separate from the personal source-of-funds records, since a strong study does not verify the investor's own capital and a clean funding history does not establish that the project will actually create the required jobs.
Request the impact study, model inputs, budgets, timetable, and job records. Ten full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers are required, so identify which positions are direct and which arise through a permissible regional-center methodology, then test assumptions against business documents. Separately assemble bank, tax, sale, loan, gift, and transfer evidence tracing the investor’s lawful source and path of funds. Capital must be at risk and invested or actively undergoing investment. For this regional-center investment, use Form I-526E. The usual mistake is assuming an impressive job cushion excuses incomplete personal fund tracing.
Hypothetical example: an Ottawa health-data consultant reviews a regional-center senior-housing development whose study relies on construction expenditure and future operations. The consultant should ask how delayed building, a smaller budget, or a changed operating model would affect attributed employment, and which records will support the later filing. Their proceeds from selling consultancy shares require a separate documentary chain through the subscription transfer. Neither clean personal statements validate the economist’s assumptions nor a robust study proves lawful capital provenance.
- USCIS — EB-5 investor program
- USCIS — business and investment visa overview
- USCIS — Child Status Protection Act
- Department of State — Visa Bulletin
- USCIS — fee schedule
- U.S. Code — INA203(b)(5) investment requirements
- 8 USC 1153 — capital, jobs and project determinations
- 8 CFR 204.6(e) — direct employee and hours definitions only
- USCIS — I-829 instructions
- Department of State — employment immigrant travel