All EB-5 investors must invest in a new commercial enterprise:

 

A commercial enterprise must (be or have been): Established on or after Nov. 29, 1990, or Established on or before Nov. 29, 1990, that is:

 

1.) Purchased and the existing business is restructured or reorganized in such a way that a new commercial enterprise results, or

 

2.) Expanded through the investment so that a 40-percent increase in the net worth or number of employees occurs.

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Commercial enterprise means any for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business including, but not limited to:

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• A sole proprietorship

• Partnership (whether limited or general)

• Holding company

• Joint venture

• Business trust or other entity, which may be publicly or privately owned. This definition includes a commercial enterprise consisting of a holding company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, provided that each such subsidiary is engaged in a for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of a lawful business.

 

(*Note: This definition does not include noncommercial activity such as owning and operating a personal residence.)

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Job creation requirements:

Create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for the qualification of United States workers within two years (or under certain circumstances within a reasonable time after the two-year period) of immigrant investor admission to The United States as a conditional permanent resident.

Create or maintain direct or indirect jobs:
 

• Direct jobs are real identifiable for qualified employees within the trading company in which the EB-5 investor has directly invested its capital.
   

• Indirect jobs are those that have been shown to be collaterally created or as a result of the capital invested in a trading company associated with a regional center of an EB-5 investor. A foreign investor can only use indirect employment calculation if associated with a regional center.