IN THIS GUIDE · A registered savings plan still has to show where the money came from
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Follow each pool of money back to its origin
A registered plan is a container rather than a source. What must be established is where the contributions came from — employment income, business earnings, previous investment proceeds — supported by tax filings, employment records and plan statements over the relevant period. An estate distribution is established by the will or succession documents, the estate accounting and the executor’s transfer, plus, where relevant, how the deceased acquired the funds. Neither exercise is impossible, but both take time and involve third parties. Start early, and expect the registered plan to require more historical documentation than the applicant assumes. Build the source record chronologically, including acquisition, tax, sale, gift, loan, and transfer evidence where relevant.
Document the path as carefully as the source
Gaps in the middle cause as many requests for evidence as gaps at the origin. Once the funds are released, every account they pass through should be documented with statements covering the relevant periods rather than opening and closing balances, including any currency conversion and any intermediate transfer between the applicant’s own accounts. Tax consequences of the deregistration or distribution should be shown as reported. The objective is a continuous, checkable line from origin to the enterprise’s account, with each step supported by a record that a reviewer can follow without inference. French-language documents require complete certified English translations. Read the offering and project documents for repayment, redemption, and allocation terms that may affect whether capital is genuinely at risk.
Confirm what the capital must achieve once invested
The investment must be made in a new commercial enterprise and must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers, with the investor engaged in management or policy formulation rather than holding a purely passive interest. Under the 2022 legislation the qualifying amounts are one million fifty thousand dollars generally and eight hundred thousand dollars for a targeted employment area or infrastructure project; these are subject to adjustment and should be verified against current official sources before committing. Approval leads to two years of conditional permanent residence, with conditions removed through an I-829 petition supported by evidence that the requirements were met. Treat the job model as an evidentiary question, not just a forecast, and preserve the documents that will be needed later to remove conditions.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.