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EB-5 Direct Investment Assessment

The direct EB-5 judgement is not complicated: the business must be real, you must participate in management, it must employ at least 10 full-time workers per investor, the capital must genuinely arrive, and the timeline must hold. This form asks those five things in order, with a why-we-ask and how-to-answer note on every section. It is not a business-plan questionnaire — market analysis and five-year projections come later, when the actual business plan is written. No registration; your draft autosaves in this browser.

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What a direct assessment examines

Direct EB-5 stands on three sentences: capital is genuinely invested, at risk, in a genuinely operating for-profit enterprise; the investor engages in management; and the enterprise itself employs at least 10 full-time workers per investor. The assessment asks where your business plan stands on each of the three — clear, needs work, or not viable. Completing it usually shows whether direct EB-5 is a realistic path for you, and which piece is missing.

How this form works

  • No registration. Your draft autosaves in this browser only and is not uploaded until you choose to submit.
  • Every field is optional while you work — record the facts you remember and refine later.
  • Each section explains why the item is asked and how to answer it. Read the note first if a field is unclear.
  • You can print or save a PDF copy for yourself at any time.
  • Submit only when you want our review: a name plus one contact method (email or phone) is all we need.

“Direct vs. Regional Center EB-5” explains how the two routes differ; the statutory conditions are checked item by item in this assessment.

Read the in-depth article first
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Basic information

Why this is asked：First confirm who the applicant is and what stage the business is at. The details come in the sections below.

How to answer：Write your name as it appears in your passport. Contact details are used only for our reply and are never displayed publicly.

The business itself

Step one: what the business is

Direct EB-5 at its core means you (alone or with partners) genuinely operate a business in the U.S. that creates jobs. So the first step is to state the business itself — what it does, where it will be, and whether it is new or an acquisition.

Why this is asked：Direct EB-5 requires the investment to go into a genuinely operating for-profit enterprise. Industry, location and whether it is a startup or acquisition determine how jobs are counted and how the timeline runs — taking over an existing business, creating a new one, and expanding an existing one are treated differently under immigration law. This section records facts, not a judgement of the business.

How to answer：Plain language is fine — one sentence on what the business does is enough. Where something is undecided (the exact site, for example), give the rough area or city and mark it "undecided".

Is this a new business, or the acquisition of one already operating?

In one sentence, what the business does and how it earns money

For example "a Chinese fast-food restaurant in Houston, revenue from dine-in and delivery". No business-plan prose needed.

Step two: your role in the business

EB-5 requires the investor to engage in management — either day-to-day operations or policy-level decision-making. This section records how you intend to participate, and whether you have relevant industry experience.

Why this is asked：Active participation in management is a statutory requirement; a purely passive financial investment does not qualify. What you manage and how determines how your role is described in the filing. Industry experience is not a statutory threshold, but where it is absent, the operating plan (hiring a manager, franchise support) needs to be thought through in advance — recording it here lets us assess it together.

How to answer：State your actual intention: run it full time yourself, run it with family, or hire a general manager while you handle major decisions. List relevant experience; "none" is a fine answer.

Your intended role (day-to-day operations / major decisions / both)

For example "I run the store full time" or "I hire a GM; I control budget, expansion and major contracts".

Your (or your family's/partner's) experience in this industry or in managing a business

Companies run, team sizes managed, businesses operated — plain language, no resume format needed.

Will a partner or family member co-invest or co-run this business?

The key number in direct EB-5

Step three: the hiring plan — how many jobs the business creates

In direct EB-5 the jobs must appear on this enterprise's own payroll: at least 10 qualifying full-time positions per investor. This section asks one thing — who you expect to hire, how many, and when they start.

Why this is asked：Direct EB-5 cannot count indirect jobs: positions must be full-time W-2 employees of the enterprise itself (35+ hours per week), and the investor and immediate family do not count. So "how many people, in which roles, full-time or not" is the single most important number in this assessment. The hiring plan drives the I-526E business plan and the evidence later filed at I-829.

How to answer：One row per position: title, headcount, full-time or part-time, expected start. Write your genuine operating plan and err on the conservative side — planning 12 and ending with 8 is far worse than planning 8 from the start.

Planned positions (one row each)

Why this is asked：The core of whether a direct case stands. Headcount, full-time status and start timing must all be visible from this table.

How to answer：For example "Store manager / 1 / full-time / from opening"; "Servers / 6 / full-time / within three months of opening". Note part-time roles and any investor or family member positions separately.

Do the full-time positions above total at least 10 per investor?

Step four: investment amount and use of funds

This section covers only the business side: how much the business needs in total and roughly where it goes. For where the money comes from (salary, property, loans…), please use the separate EB-5 Source of Funds assessment.

Why this is asked：Statutory minimums apply (USD 1,050,000 standard; USD 800,000 where TEA or similar conditions are met), and the capital must actually be invested, at risk, and used in the operation. The use-of-funds breakdown (build-out, equipment, initial payroll, working capital) is both the basis of the business plan and the cross-check that the investment genuinely arrived.

How to answer：A total and rough uses are enough — no financial-statement format needed. Note amounts already spent (deposits, rent paid) separately: invested funds may count, but keep the receipts.

Rough use of funds (one row per item)

Why this is asked：The structure of uses shows the investment genuinely enters operations and forms the cost side of the business plan.

How to answer：For example "Lease deposit and build-out / about $250k / not yet paid"; "Equipment / about $150k / $30k deposit paid".

Step five: timeline and licenses

Key dates: signing/closing, opening, staff start — rough timing

Your current thinking is enough, e.g. "sign the lease next March, open in June, core hires done before opening".

Does the business need licenses or permits before opening (food service, liquor, professional licenses)?

Your timing requirements: when you hope to file, and any hard deadline (a child's age, for example)

We use this to sequence the business plan, source-of-funds work and filing. It is not a processing-time commitment.

Anything else

Anything else that may help

Information outside the sections above, including the part you feel least sure about.

Visa and family background

Why this is asked：Prior visa applications and refusals affect how the consular or adjustment stage is handled, and that needs to be known at the outset rather than discovered before an interview. Relatives in the U.S. can indicate parallel options or a family timeline that must be planned alongside your case.

How to answer：Approximate dates are fine. A past refusal does not by itself end a case, but report it accurately — an undisclosed record causes far more trouble than the record itself.

Have you applied for immigrant, student or visitor visas before?
Have you ever been refused an immigrant, student or visitor visa?

Spouse and children, if any

Include birth years. If a child is approaching 21, the family timeline needs separate planning.

Do you or your spouse have relatives in the United States? Note the relationship and where they live.

Submit to TIHU for review

We will prepare an initial review based on the facts you entered and reply through the contact details you leave. Please double-check your name and contact information before submitting.

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Looking at the other pathway too?

EB-5 source of funds assessment
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