Aclaración sin CBI: EB-5 sec. 203(b)(5) confiere LPR únicamente (sin ciudadanía de inversionista)

An EB-5 investor must: (1) invest or be in the process of investing the required capital amount — $1,050,000 generally or $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA: defined as a rural area or an area with unemployment at least 150% of the national average) as set by EB5RIA (Pub. L. 117-103, Div. BB); (2) invest in a new commercial enterprise established after 29 Nov 1990, or in a troubled business established before 29 Nov 1990; (3) create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers directly, or indirectly through a USCIS-designated Regional Center; and (4) be actively engaged in management of the enterprise (as a manager or through policy formulation), unless investing through a Regional Center. The capital must be lawfully sourced and placed 'at risk' for the purpose of generating a return. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of principal EB-5 investors are eligible as derivative beneficiaries (they share the investor's conditional LPR on I-526/I-526E approval). None of these requirements creates citizenship; all lead only to conditional LPR, which must be converted to unconditional LPR and eventually to citizenship via naturalization under INA sec. 316 or sec. 319.

EB-5 conditional LPR holders are subject to the same LPR obligations as any other LPR: they must maintain continuous residence in the US and avoid conduct constituting abandonment of LPR status. Prolonged absences (typically more than 6 months in a single trip, or a pattern of trips suggesting the LPR's principal home is abroad) can result in a finding of abandonment at a port of entry; a re-entry permit (Form I-131) or an SB-1 returning-resident visa may mitigate planned long absences. After unconditional LPR, the naturalization clock under INA sec. 316(a) = 8 USC sec. 1427(a) requires: 5 years' continuous residence as an LPR; at least 30 months of physical presence within the 5-year period; and residence in the filing state/USCIS district at least 3 months before filing. Under INA sec. 316(b) = 8 USC sec. 1427(b): an absence of 6-12 months raises a rebuttable presumption of broken continuous residence; an absence of 1 year or more breaks it absent an approved Form N-470 (preservation of residence). An EB-5 investor who spends significant time abroad managing the enterprise must track physical presence and continuous residence carefully so the naturalization clock is not disrupted.

The EB-5 process from investment to naturalization: (1) For a REGIONAL-CENTER investment, the designated regional center must FIRST file Form I-956F (Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise) for the particular offering before any investor may petition (INA sec. 203(b)(5)(F)). (2) The INVESTOR FILES the immigrant petition: a standalone (direct) investor files Form I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor, the renamed former Form I-526 'by Alien Entrepreneur'), while a regional-center investor files Form I-526E (Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor) under INA sec. 203(b)(5)(E). (3) After approval and immigrant-visa availability, the investor either adjusts status inside the US via Form I-485 or obtains an EB-5 immigrant visa abroad via the National Visa Center and a consular interview (Form DS-260). (4) The investor receives CONDITIONAL LPR status (a 2-year conditional green card) under INA sec. 216A = 8 USC sec. 1186b. (5) Within the 90-day window before the 2-year conditional period expires, the investor files Form I-829 (Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions) demonstrating the capital was invested and the 10 jobs created/preserved. (6) On I-829 approval, the investor receives UNCONDITIONAL LPR. (7) After 5 years of continuous LPR residence (or 3 years if married to and living with a USC), the investor files Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization), passes the English and civics tests, and takes the oath under INA sec. 337 = 8 USC sec. 1448. (Note: Form I-956K is promoter registration, NOT an investor petition; Form I-956 is the regional-center designation application.)

EB-5 timelines are long and country-dependent. The LIVE authority is the USCIS processing-times tool at egov.uscis.gov/processing-times (select Form I-526, I-526E, I-829, I-485, or N-400 and, where applicable, the field office); the statutory/decision framework includes INA sec. 203(b)(5) adjudication standards and EB5RIA's processing-time goals (which prioritize TEA and rural petitions). As of 2026-06-01 (verify current), published USCIS ranges for I-526/I-526E commonly run on the order of one to several years, and I-829 adjudication runs on a multi-year scale (conditional LPR is automatically extended during pendency); immigrant-visa availability for China- and India-born investors in the unreserved EB-5 category may add years of retrogression per the monthly DOS Visa Bulletin. After unconditional LPR, the 5-year naturalization clock (or 3-year spousal clock) runs, with N-400 processing on its own published timeframe. Do NOT rely on any fixed field-office number or any 'X-year guaranteed citizenship' figure from a promotional source; the only reliable EB-5 timeline figures come from the USCIS processing-times tool and the DOS Visa Bulletin, both checked at time of filing. The end-to-end I-526/I-526E-to-naturalization minimum without retrogression is roughly 8-12 years; with China/India retrogression it can be substantially longer.

EB-5 governmental costs are substantial. As of 2026-06-01 (per the USCIS 2024 Final Fee Rule, 89 FR 6194, eff. 1 Apr 2024): Form I-526/I-526E filing fee: $11,160 (the fee schedule lists I-526/I-526E together — 'Immigrant Petition by Standalone/Regional Center'); Form I-829 filing fee: $9,525 (same whether or not biometrics are included); Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status): $1,440 for adults; consular processing fee abroad (Form DS-260 immigrant-visa application): approximately $325 DOS fee. The investment itself — $1,050,000 or $800,000 in a TEA — is NOT a government fee but the actual qualifying capital deployed into the commercial enterprise (and placed at risk). Regional-center administrative/subscription fees are additional, typically tens of thousands of dollars, set by the regional center. After unconditional LPR, the Form N-400 (Naturalization) fees are $760 paper / $710 online / $380 reduced (89 FR 6194, eff. 1 Apr 2024). Total governmental fees from I-526/I-526E through N-400 approval exceed $22,000, exclusive of legal fees, regional-center fees, and the investment capital itself. Fees are pinned to the Evidence Table (89 FR 6194); the investment thresholds are pinned to EB5RIA (Pub. L. 117-103).

El Programa de Inversionistas Inmigrantes EB-5 fue creado por la Ley de Inmigración de 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649, sec. 121, 104 Stat. 4978, promulgada el 29 de noviembre de 1990), que agregó INA sec. 203(b)(5) = 8 USC sec. 1153(b)(5) como categoría de quinta preferencia de visa de inmigrante basada en empleo. El programa EB-5 fue reformado integralmente por la Ley de Integridad y Reforma EB-5 de 2022 (EB5RIA; Pub. L. 117-103, Div. BB, Título I, promulgada el 15 de marzo de 2022 como parte de la Ley de Apropiaciones Consolidadas, 2022), que revisó el Programa del Centro Regional, estableció nuevos umbrales de inversión, impuso medidas de integridad y creó la Oficina del Programa de Inversionistas Inmigrantes. (IIPO) dentro de USCIS, y reautorizó el Programa del Centro Regional hasta el 30 de septiembre de 2027 (sujeto a reautorización periódica). La disposición operativa fundacional es INA sec. 203(b)(5) según enmendado por EB5RIA: asigna aproximadamente 10,000 visas de inmigrante EB-5 anualmente (7.1% del total mundial basado en empleo) para inversionistas que invierten en una nueva empresa comercial que crea al menos 10 empleos de tiempo completo para trabajadores estadounidenses calificados. El resultado de la aprobación de la EB-5 es la LPR, no la ciudadanía. Este resultado exclusivo de LPR ha sido la estructura operativa desde el inicio del programa.inicio en 1990 y NO fue modificado por EB5RIA.

Denial of a Form I-526 or I-526E immigrant investor petition by USCIS may be administratively appealed to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) within 33 days of the denial notice (30 days plus 3 for mailing); after exhaustion of administrative remedies, judicial review of the agency action is available in federal district court under the APA. Denial of Form I-829 (removal of conditions) may be reviewed by an immigration judge in removal proceedings (INA sec. 216A(c)(3)(B)) and, after the BIA, by petition for review in the courts of appeals — and separately may be challenged via APA review. Denial of Form N-400 naturalization is subject to administrative review (Form N-336 hearing) and then de novo judicial review under INA sec. 310(c) = 8 USC sec. 1421(c) in federal district court. There is no investor-specific judicial-review mechanism; the general immigration/naturalization framework applies. Importantly, a denied I-829 may terminate conditional LPR and initiate removal proceedings, which then bar naturalization under INA sec. 318 = 8 USC sec. 1429 (no naturalization while removal is pending) — a structural reminder that the citizenship endpoint depends on first securing and keeping LPR.

An EB-5 investor who eventually naturalizes is subject to the same dual-nationality framework as any naturalized U.S. citizen. The United States does not prohibit dual citizenship, though the naturalization oath under INA sec. 337 = 8 USC sec. 1448 includes a renunciation of prior foreign allegiances. In practice, USCIS and DOS do not treat the oath as automatically expatriating the new citizen from a foreign nationality, and a foreign nationality is not lost under U.S. law unless an expatriating act is performed voluntarily with the intent to relinquish U.S. nationality (Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967); Vance v. Terrazas, 444 U.S. 252 (1980); the intent chapeau of 8 USC sec. 1481(a), added by Pub. L. 99-653). Whether the investor RETAINS their original nationality after U.S. naturalization depends on the laws of their country of origin — some states (and this is common for Chinese and Indian EB-5 investors) automatically strip nationality upon foreign naturalization or do not recognize dual nationality. EB-5 investors should obtain home-country legal advice on this point. This is a naturalization-stage consideration; it has no bearing on the EB-5 LPR stage, which never implicates nationality at all.