The first step in becoming a U.S. citizen through the EB-5 Program is to gain lawful permanent resident status, which requires making an eligible investment and filing Form I-526. Upon I-526 approval, the foreign national is granted conditional permanent residence, which is identical to lawful permanent residence except that it is conditioned on the successful completion of the EB-5 Program. After two years of conditional permanent resident status, the investor files Form I-829 to remove conditions—which will be adjudicated based on whether the EB-5 investment was sustained and the employment creation requirement was met. If Form I-829 is approved, the EB-5 investor will be able to apply for naturalized citizenship four years and nine months after first receiving conditional permanent resident status—assuming all other requirements are met.