After an investor has entered the United States as a conditional permanent resident, he or she will have two years to prove that the EB-5 investment has created ten full-time jobs. Within 90 days of this deadline, the investor must file an I-829 petition for removal of conditions of permanent residence.
At the end of this process, investors are not guaranteed a green card, as the I-829 petition approval is based on whether the investment funds have created the requisite number of jobs (latest I-829 approval rates = 96% for FY 2016).
The EB-5 Program requires that the investment be at risk throughout this time period, meaning each investor faces some level of uncertainty. Therefore, if a new enterprise fails before the investor has filed his or her I-829 petition, USCIS may deny the petition because the jobs no longer exist, meaning the investor may lose the investment and will additionally be ineligible for a green card.
The I-829 petition is the final step in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Investors and their attorneys file this petition with USCIS and provide evidence that the investor has successfully fulfilled all of the program’s requirements, particularly that investor funds resulted in the creation of at least ten jobs. Upon approval of the petition, investors and their family members receive permanent green cards.