Read the general immigrant investor briefing overview
Metchosin applicants should identify what has been invested, what remains required and what permission has actually been granted. A contribution schedule and a travel plan should not be treated as the same timeline. The decision for a household selling a business in instalments is which route needs the money first and in what form. EB-5 requires capital actually invested or actively in the process of being invested; the Gold Card framework, as officially described, requires a gift to the U.S. government after vetting. Neither accepts a buyer’s promissory note as the applicant’s contribution.
Assess the EB-5 investment stage
A bare promise to pay later is insufficient; actual process-of-investing arrangements need case-specific review. Capital generally is US$1.05 million or US$800,000 for qualifying TEA or infrastructure cases, with statutory adjustment from January 1, 2027. Lawful source/path, at-risk funds, ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor and management or policy-formulation participation remain necessary. Verify the current filing-date EB-5 capital threshold before any money moves.
Follow Gold Card’s official stages
Processing is US$15,000 nonrefundable per person. After vetting when instructed, principal gifts are US$1 million individually or US$2 million corporately; each eligible included spouse or child adds US$1 million and processing. Corporate maintenance and transfer conditions are additional. EB-1/EB-2 eligibility, admissibility and visa availability remain required, and the gift is not EB-5 capital or equity. The Gold Card is not a conventional visa category. Re-verify all official terms before any money moves.
Plan from actual residence and entry permission
Petition approval alone does not grant residence or work permission. EB-5’s usual I-829 window is the 90 days before the second conditional-residence anniversary; filing does not automatically remove conditions or guarantee repayment. Pending immigrant plans can matter to temporary entry, so assess the actual trip rather than rely on a receipt. No payment schedule guarantees approval or completion time.
Hypothetical example: a tour-boat business sold in tranches
Hypothetical example: a Metchosin couple sells their tour-boat operation with half the price paid on closing and the balance over three years under a vendor-take-back note. One spouse favours EB-5 through a regional-centre limited partnership; the other prefers the Gold Card framework. For EB-5, only funds the investor has actually contributed, or is demonstrably in the process of contributing, count toward the US$800,000 or US$1.05 million threshold; the outstanding note is a receivable, not capital at risk, and the lawful source and path of every dollar must be traced from the sale documents to the partnership account. A limited partner in a regional-centre project generally satisfies the participation requirement through policy-formulation rights in the partnership agreement, but ten full-time jobs for qualifying US workers must still be attributable to the investment. For the Gold Card, the officially described gift is not an investment and creates no equity; its terms should be re-verified before any transfer. Their nineteen-year-old’s age must be checked against each route.
Which document decides the timing
The closing statement and the note schedule decide when enough clean capital exists. Bank records showing the transfer from the sale proceeds to the enterprise, or the completed gift, decide when a petition or application is actually supportable. The partnership agreement decides whether participation is satisfied. Do not file on the strength of instalments still owed. After EB-5 conditional residence is granted, the I-829 window in the ninety days before the second anniversary remains the milestone that matters, and repayment of the investment is never guaranteed by approval.
What else is on your mind?
Does an EB-5 immigration review tell me whether an investment is good?Is the Gold Card another name for EB-5?Should I assume one Gold Card payment covers my family?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.