Any number of foreign nationals from any number of countries may invest in a new commercial enterprise (NCE). The primary issue is job creation—in other words, whether the project will create 10 permanent, full-time jobs for each EB-5 investor.

Foreign nationals planning an EB-5 investment and EB-5 project developers should keep in mind that, the greater the number of EB-5 investors involved in a project, the more jobs will be needed to ensure that each foreign national is allocated at least 10 jobs. For instance, a real estate development project open to 10 EB-5 investors may plan on creating 100 jobs. In this case, each investor will only be allocated 10 jobs. If the project experiences an EB-5 capital shortfall or a major problem during construction, then it may not be able to create the 100 jobs it had originally planned. As a result, each EB-5 investment would not generate the needed number of jobs, and the investors would not be complying with the program’s requirements.

On the other hand, suppose that the same project, which plans on creating 100 jobs, is only open to five EB-5 investors. In this case, there would be an ample cushion of 50 additional jobs—the project plans on creating 100 jobs but only needs 50 to fulfill the employment requirement for each EB-5 investor. If there is a major setback during construction or another issue, it is still very likely that the project will create 50 jobs and thus enable its EB-5 investors to obtain permanent resident status. Projects that offer an ample job cushion are especially reliable and have a low immigration risk.

When filing Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, investors need to prove that at least 10 jobs have been created or are in the process of being created as a result of their investment.