IN THIS GUIDE · Sequencing a dental-practice sale with an EB-5 petition
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Trace the funds from the practice to the project
The source of funds is the sale of the practice; the path is every account the money passes through afterward. The file should include the practice sale agreement, evidence of how the practice was originally acquired or built, the closing statement, tax filings showing the practice income over the years and bank statements showing the proceeds moving to the investment. Proceeds that pass through a professional corporation and then a holding company need each step documented, including any dividend or shareholder-loan mechanics. The first review should reconcile the gross price, debts paid at closing, professional expenses, taxes and the net amount available. The closing lawyer’s trust ledger or sale disbursement statement, matched against bank statements, settles whether a claimed contribution remains available. An unexplained transfer to a personal or corporate account is not cured by a later spreadsheet; its date, purpose and recipient need contemporaneous proof.
Match the amount to the current threshold and the project's location
The standard amount is US$1,050,000; the reduced US$800,000 amount applies to projects in a targeted employment area or qualifying infrastructure project. The regional center's offering documents will state which it claims. The investor should obtain that designation evidence rather than rely on marketing, and should confirm the amount is current at filing, because thresholds are subject to periodic adjustment. The decision is not merely whether US$800,000 is affordable. The investor must decide whether the offering’s project location and supporting designation evidence match the reduced threshold claimed for the filing. Separately, loan terms, escrow release conditions and the proposed exit affect commercial risk; they should be understood without treating a forecasted repayment as immigration proof.
Understand what engagement means in a regional-center investment
A limited-partner or member role with voting rights as set out in the partnership agreement can satisfy the requirement that the investor be engaged in management or policy formulation. The investor should read the governing document for those rights rather than assume a passive placement is enough. Job creation in a regional-center project is generally measured through economic modelling of direct, indirect and induced jobs, which the project must document. Project diligence also answers a different question: which entity is responsible for records showing job results, how reports will be delivered, and what happens if construction or financing changes. Economic reports do not eliminate the need to preserve later evidence. An investor deciding between similar offerings may compare reporting access, capital-call obligations and provisions permitting amendment or substitution alongside the immigration materials.
Plan the two-stage residence and the family's eligibility
Approval of the immigrant petition leads to conditional permanent residence for two years, with Form I-829 filed in the 90 days before the second anniversary to remove conditions by showing the investment was sustained and the jobs created. The spouse and unmarried children under 21 are derivatives; the adult daughter already in the United States is not, whatever her own status. Her situation is a separate analysis. Hypothetical example: a Quispamsis custom bicycle-frame builder commits proceeds from selling his workshop to a regional-center offering and later receives conditional residence. He must decide whether to retain a full copy of project updates rather than relying on the promoter’s assurance that I-829 will be routine. The later filing requires evidence that the investment was sustained through the applicable period and that the required job-creation showing is met under the governing rules. He should preserve capital-account statements, notices of material changes and the records used to establish his conditional-resident dates.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.