EB-5 Infrastructure Project Requirements

The term does not mean every project involving roads, utilities, public-private development, or construction.

The project must satisfy the definition Congress placed in INA §203(b)(5)(D).

An EB-5 infrastructure project has a narrow statutory meaning and should not be equated with every project involving roads, utilities, construction, public-private cooperation, or a public benefit. INA section 203(b)(5) defines the category by specific governmental and public-works elements. The project must be a regional center capital investment project administered by a governmental entity that serves as the job-creating entity, with the financing used for qualifying public works. Form I-956F should identify each element expressly. Marketing terminology cannot create infrastructure status if the actual project structure does not satisfy the statutory definition applied by DHS.

The statute gives examples such as a federal, state, or local agency or authority.

The governmental role is part of the immigration definition itself.

The governmental entity is central to the classification. The statute contemplates a federal, state, or local agency or authority, or another qualifying governmental entity, administering the project and serving as the job-creating entity. Form I-956F specifically asks whether the project is administered by such a governmental JCE. Organizational documents, authorizing statutes or resolutions, public agency records, and project agreements should establish the entity’s legal status and role. A private developer working on a government-related project does not by itself satisfy this element if the governmental entity is not the JCE contemplated by the statute and the project documentation.

The legal and financing documents should reflect the relationship among the governmental entity, regional center or NCE, and EB-5 capital.

The governmental entity must contract with the regional center or new commercial enterprise to receive capital investment under the Regional Center Program. The project documents should therefore show the legal relationship through which EB-5 capital reaches the governmental JCE. Loan agreements, bond or financing documents, intergovernmental agreements, NCE documents, and project contracts should identify the parties, amount, permitted use of funds, repayment terms, and project obligations consistently. If private developers or contractors also participate, their roles should be distinguished from the governmental JCE. The Form I-956F record should make the capital path and contractual structure understandable without relying on labels alone.

A project should not be labeled infrastructure solely because it provides some public benefit.

The financing must be used for maintaining, improving, or constructing a public works project. That element should be supported by the actual project purpose, governmental approvals, budgets, contracts, and use-of-proceeds documents. A project does not become infrastructure merely because it is large, provides public benefits, receives public incentives, or is located on public land. The filing should describe the public works asset or improvement and show how EB-5 capital finances that work. If only part of a broader development is public works, the record should identify the qualifying component and ensure that the infrastructure classification is tied to the portion actually meeting the statute.

The infrastructure category is smaller than the rural and high unemployment set-asides but can provide a separate reserved visa classification.

Two percent of annual EB-5 visas are reserved for qualifying infrastructure investors. This reserved category is smaller than the rural and high unemployment set-asides and follows its own Visa Bulletin line. Reserved classification does not guarantee immediate visa availability and does not excuse any other investor or project requirement. The petition and Form I-956F should consistently identify the infrastructure basis, and the investor should monitor current Department of State availability using the priority date and country of chargeability. The $800,000 investment threshold and reserved visa classification should be supported by the same valid infrastructure determination rather than treated as independent marketing benefits.

• Governmental entity documents
• Project agreement
• Public works documentation
• Form I-956F
• Business plan
• Financing documents
• Capital deployment records
• Economic analysis

An infrastructure project filing should establish every statutory element with project-specific documents. Useful evidence can include governmental entity formation or authority records, project resolutions, the agreement through which the governmental JCE receives EB-5 capital, public works plans, budgets, permits, procurement or construction contracts, financing documents, the business plan, economic report, and Form I-956F. Bank and deployment records should later show that capital moved according to the approved structure. The strongest file makes clear who administers the project, who serves as JCE, what public works are financed, how the NCE or regional center connects to the governmental entity, and how jobs are generated.