EB-5 · Timeline

From investment to a permanent green card

1. 1

   File I-526 or I-526E

   Once you have invested or are actively in the process of investing, you file Form I-526 or I-526E with USCIS. Your priority date, which sets your place in the visa line, is the date USCIS accepts the petition for processing.^[1,2,3]

2. 2

   Wait for a visa number

   Employment-based immigrant visas are numerically limited. The State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin shows cut-off dates by preference category and country of chargeability (usually your country of birth); a visa is available to you when your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date for your category and country in the applicable chart.^[2]

3. 3

   Apply for the green card

   If a visa is immediately available and you are in the United States, you may file Form I-485 together with your I-526 or I-526E, while it is pending, or after it is approved. After approval, you either file Form I-485 if you have not already (a visa must still be immediately available) or apply for an EB-5 immigrant visa abroad with Form DS-260.^[1]

4. 4

   Two years of conditional residence

   When USCIS approves your I-485, or when you are admitted with an EB-5 immigrant visa, you and your derivative family members get conditional permanent residence for two years. Unless a rule says otherwise, conditional residents have the same rights and duties as other permanent residents.^[1,4]

5. 5

   Remove the conditions (I-829)

   You file Form I-829 within the 90-day period immediately before the second anniversary of becoming a conditional resident; that anniversary is the expiration date on your green card. If USCIS approves it, the conditions are removed from your status and from that of the dependents you included.^[1,5]