Esclarecimento não-CBI – EB-5 seg. 203(b)(5) confere apenas LPR (sem cidadania de investidor)

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).

O Programa de Investidores Imigrantes EB-5 foi criado pela Lei de Imigração de 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649, seção 121, 104 Stat. 4978, promulgada em 29 de novembro de 1990), que adicionou a seção INA. 203 (b) (5) = 8 USC seg. 1153(b)(5) como uma quinta categoria preferencial de visto de imigrante baseado em emprego. O programa EB-5 foi amplamente reformado pela Lei de Reforma e Integridade EB-5 de 2022 (EB5RIA; Pub. L. 117-103, Div. BB, Título I, promulgada em 15 de março de 2022 como parte da Lei de Dotações Consolidadas de 2022), que revisou o Programa do Centro Regional, estabeleceu novos limites de investimento, impôs medidas de integridade, criou o Escritório do Programa de Investidores Imigrantes (IIPO) dentro do USCIS e reautorizou o Programa do Centro Regional até 30 de setembro de 2027 (sujeito a reautorização periódica). A disposição operativa fundamental é INA sec. 203(b)(5) conforme alterado pela EB5RIA: atribui aproximadamente 10.000 vistos de imigrante EB-5 anualmente (7,1% do total mundial baseado no emprego) para investidores que investem numa nova empresa comercial que crie pelo menos 10 empregos a tempo inteiro para trabalhadores norte-americanos qualificados. O resultado da aprovação EB-5 é LPR – não cidadania. Este resultado exclusivo da LPR tem sido a estrutura operacional desde o início do programainício em 1990 e NÃO foi alterado pela 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.