The Sequence of Filings: General Overview

An immigrant investor seeking admission into the United States as a lawful permanent resident will proceed in the following sequence:

For an immigrant investor visa who is investing in a new commercial enterprise that is not part of a regional center, the immigrant investor will file a Form I-526 that, together withthe supporting evidence, demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that the immigrant investor has invested, or is actively in the process of investing, lawfully obtained capital in a new commercial enterprise in the United States that will create fulltime positions for not fewer than ten qualifying direct employees.

For an immigrant investor visa who is investing in a new commercial enterprise that is part ofa regional center:

Once USCIS designates the entity as a regional center, each immigrant investorwill file a Form I-526 that, together with the supporting evidence, demonstratesby a preponderance of the evidence that the immigrant investor has invested, or isactively in the process of investing, lawfully obtained capital in a new commercialenterprise in the United States that will create directly or indirectly full-timepositions for not fewer than ten qualifying employees.

Taken from USCIS Policy Memorandum regarding EB-5 Adjudications Policy on November 9, 2011