USCIS changes "at risk" requirements for EB-5 investor visas

Original Date Announced
June 14, 2017
USCIS updates its Policy Manual to provide guidance regarding the job creation and capital at risk requirements for Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, and Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status. Policy highlights: 1. An investor must continue to be eligible for the EB-5 visa classification throughout the adjudication of his or her Form I-526 and until he or she obtains conditional permanent resident status by making an investment that remains “at risk.” 2. An investor must sustain his or her investment “at risk” throughout the 2-year period of conditional permanent residence to be eligible for removal of conditions on his or her permanent resident status. 3. Further deployment of an investor’s capital may be used to meet the capital at risk requirement under certain circumstances. [ID #575]
USCIS Policy Alert (PA-2017-01): Job Creation and Capital At Risk Requirements for Adjudication of Form I-526 and Form I-829
Effective Date
June 14, 2017

Fully in Effect

Status: Final/Actual

Trump Administration Action: Agency Directive

Subject Matter: Immigrant Visas: Employment-Based

Agencies Affected: USCIS

Pre Trump-Era Policies

August 10, 2015 USCIS published a draft memorandum in August 2015, Guidance on the Job Creation Requirement and Sustainment of the Investment for EB-5 Adjudication of Form I-526 and Form I-829. This Policy Manual update is effective upon publication and provides guidance on some of the issues raised in that draft memorandum and further clarifies guidance already published in the USCIS Policy Manual. 2015 USCIS Memo