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EB-5 Visa for Senior Housing Investment | Haven Senior Investments
Disclaimer For informational purposes only — not immigration, legal, or investment advice. EB-5 investments are securities offerings. All immigration matters require a qualified immigration attorney. Consult licensed professionals before pursuing any EB-5 investment. Haven is not an immigration attorney, broker-dealer, or registered investment advisor.
Immigration & Investment · EB-5 Program

The EB-5 Visa &
Senior Housing
Investment

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program offers foreign nationals a pathway to U.S. lawful permanent residence in exchange for qualifying capital investment and job creation. Senior housing development — particularly in rural and high-unemployment communities — is among the most natural and impactful EB-5 project types, combining the green card pathway with real-world benefit for aging Americans and the communities that serve them.

Talk to a Haven Advisor TEA Designation Guide
1990
Year EB-5 program
was established
~10K
Annual EB-5 visas
available
2 yrs
Conditional green
card duration
2027
Regional center
reauthorization
The EB-5 Path to Permanent Residency
①
Invest qualifying capital $800,000 (TEA project) or $1,050,000 (non-TEA) in an eligible U.S. commercial enterprise
②
Create 10 U.S. jobs Full-time jobs for American workers — direct jobs (standalone) or direct, indirect & induced (regional center)
③
File I-526 / I-526E petition USCIS reviews the petition — investment, source of funds, job creation plan, and TEA evidence if applicable
④
Receive conditional green card Investor, spouse, and unmarried children under 21 receive conditional LPR status — valid for 2 years
⑤
Remove conditions — permanent residence File I-829 proving job creation and sustained investment — receive unconditional permanent green card
⑥
Path to citizenship After 5 years as a lawful permanent resident (3 if married to a U.S. citizen), eligible to apply for U.S. naturalization
Program Overview

What Is the
EB-5 Program?

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program — the fifth employment-based (EB) immigration category — was created by the U.S. Congress in 1990 under the Immigration Act. It was designed to stimulate the American economy through foreign capital investment and job creation in exchange for U.S. lawful permanent resident status — a green card — for qualifying investors and their immediate families.

The program is administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Approximately 10,000 EB-5 visas are issued annually — covering the principal investor, their spouse, and unmarried children under 21. Due to annual per-country numerical limits, investors from heavily oversubscribed countries (primarily China and India) may face significant waiting periods in the general unreserved visa pool.

The most significant reform to the program since 1990 — the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) — reauthorized the regional center program through 2027, codified targeted employment area (TEA) designations in federal statute, created reserved visa set-asides for rural and high-unemployment TEA projects, and transferred TEA designation authority from states to DHS.

Concurrent Filing — RIA Benefit for U.S.-Based Investors
Under the RIA, eligible investors already in the United States may file their adjustment of status (I-485), employment authorization (I-765), and advance parole (I-131) concurrently with their I-526E petition. This allows eligible investors to receive work authorization and travel permits within 60 days — enabling them to live and work legally in the U.S. while the EB-5 petition processes.
Core EB-5 Requirements
①
Capital Investment — At Risk
The investor must commit qualifying capital — $800,000 in a TEA project or $1,050,000 in a non-TEA project — in a for-profit U.S. new commercial enterprise. The investment must be genuinely "at risk" — arrangements guaranteeing principal return or fixed returns above market may disqualify the investment.
②
Job Creation — 10 Full-Time U.S. Workers
The investment must create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers — citizens, lawful permanent residents, or other authorized workers. For regional center investments, direct, indirect, and induced jobs all count. For standalone investments, only direct employees of the enterprise count.
③
Lawful Source of Funds
USCIS requires comprehensive documentation that the investment capital was obtained through lawful means — salary, business income, property sales, inheritance, gifts, or loans. Source of funds documentation is one of the most rigorously reviewed elements of the I-526/I-526E petition.
④
New Commercial Enterprise
The investment must be made in a "new commercial enterprise" — any for-profit U.S. business entity established after November 29, 1990, or an existing business that was purchased and substantially restructured, or expanded to increase net worth or employees by at least 40%.
⑤
Sustainment Period — Minimum 2 Years
USCIS guidance and a 2025 federal court ruling confirmed that EB-5 investment funds must remain invested for a minimum of two years. The full capital must remain deployed throughout the sustainment period to support removal of conditions on the green card.
Investment Amount by Project Type

$800,000 or $1,050,000 —
Determined by Project Location

The investment threshold is not a choice — it is determined by whether the project qualifies as a Targeted Employment Area (TEA). Senior housing development in rural or high-unemployment communities is a natural pathway to the lower $800,000 threshold.

Targeted Employment Area — TEA
Rural or High-Unemployment Project
$800,000
The reduced investment minimum applies when the senior housing project is located in a qualifying Targeted Employment Area — either a rural area outside an MSA or a high-unemployment census tract with unemployment ≥150% of the national average. TEA investments also qualify for reserved visa set-asides and, for rural projects, priority processing.
20% rural set-aside — reserved visa allocation for rural TEA investments
10% high-unemployment set-aside — reserved visa allocation for high-unemployment TEA investments
Priority processing — rural TEA I-526E average approval time: ~4.8 months after I-956F approval
Visa queue bypass — set-aside visas help investors from backlogged countries (China, India) avoid multi-year waits
Senior housing fit — rural AL and MC development frequently qualifies for rural TEA designation
Non-TEA Standard Investment
Standard Project — Outside TEA
$1,050,000
The standard investment minimum applies to all projects outside qualifying TEAs — urban or suburban senior housing developments in markets without high-unemployment or rural designation. Non-TEA investments go into the general unreserved EB-5 visa pool, which is subject to per-country numerical limits and can create multi-year backlogs for heavily subscribed nationalities.
No visa set-aside — competes in the general unreserved pool (68% of annual EB-5 visas)
Per-country limits apply — significant backlogs for investors from China and India
No geographic restriction — any U.S. location qualifies at the $1.05M threshold
Next threshold adjustment — investment amounts scheduled for inflation adjustment in 2027 per RIA
Amounts confirmed — $800K and $1.05M thresholds current as of April 2026
EB-5 Reform & Integrity Act of 2022

The Most Significant
EB-5 Reform in
Thirty Years.

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) — enacted March 15, 2022 as Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act — was the first major overhaul of the EB-5 program since its creation in 1990. The RIA addressed longstanding program weaknesses including gerrymandered TEA designations, investor protections, and regional center oversight, while reauthorizing the program through 2027.

Investors who filed I-526/I-526E petitions before the RIA's enactment may be subject to pre-RIA rules in some respects — and investors who file before the program's 2027 reauthorization deadline are protected by grandfathering provisions. Work with qualified immigration counsel to understand which rules apply to your specific petition.

Signed Into Law
March 15, 2022
Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 — the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act. Reauthorized through September 30, 2027. Grandfathering protections for investors who file before reauthorization expiration.
Reform I
Regional Center Program Reauthorized — Through 2027
The regional center program — which had been in legal limbo since it lapsed in June 2021 — was reauthorized through September 30, 2027. The RIA codified the program directly in the Immigration and Nationality Act, providing statutory stability and reducing litigation risk for the ~90,000 investors whose petitions had been in limbo.
Reform II
TEA Designation Authority Transferred to DHS
Prior to the RIA, states designated high-unemployment TEAs — a system that was systematically abused to gerrymander distant high-unemployment census tracts to cover prime urban developments. The RIA transferred exclusive high-unemployment TEA designation authority to DHS/USCIS, eliminating state gerrymandering.
Reform III
Visa Set-Asides for TEA and Infrastructure Projects
The RIA established reserved annual visa set-asides: 20% for rural TEA projects, 10% for high-unemployment TEA projects, and 2% for infrastructure projects — totaling 32% of annual EB-5 visas reserved for qualifying projects. This provides meaningful relief from per-country backlogs for investors in TEA projects from oversubscribed nations.
Reform IV
Priority Processing for Rural TEA Projects
The RIA established priority processing for rural TEA I-526E petitions — resulting in dramatically faster petition processing. Recent data shows average approval times of approximately 4.8 months for rural TEA petitions filed after I-956F project approval, compared to multi-year timelines pre-RIA.
Reform V
New Integrity and Oversight Requirements
The RIA established the EB-5 Integrity Fund, new regional center annual fees ($10,000–$20,000 depending on investor count), enhanced USCIS oversight authority, new investor protection provisions for regional center investors, and new forms (I-956 for RC designation, I-956F for investment offering approval, I-956G for annual RC statements).
Senior Housing & EB-5

Purpose-Driven Capital
for Communities
That Need Both.

Senior housing development in rural and underserved communities represents one of the most meaningful intersections of EB-5 capital and community need. These are communities where the aging population lacks adequate care options, where the nearest assisted living facility may be an hour's drive away, and where a new senior housing community creates both the care infrastructure and the jobs that qualify investors for the reduced TEA threshold and visa set-asides.

For EB-5 investors, senior housing offers a project type where the capital need, the job creation profile, and the TEA location characteristics align naturally — without the contorted structures that were necessary to force urban luxury real estate into TEA compliance under the old state-designation system. The RIA's move to DHS designation has made this alignment clearer and more reliable.

Rural communities where AL and MC are most needed are often the same communities that qualify as rural TEAs — no gerrymandering required
Job creation is genuine and substantial — a 100-bed AL community creates 80–130+ positions that are real, meaningful local jobs, not financial engineering
Long-term capital need matches EB-5 sustainment — senior housing development and lease-up timelines align naturally with the 2-year minimum investment sustainment period
Mission alignment — EB-5 investors who care about legacy and impact, not just financial return, find senior housing development uniquely resonant as a vehicle
Demographics validate the project — aging population demand is structural and documented; senior housing is not a speculative investment thesis
Senior Housing EB-5 — Impact Profile
A 100-bed assisted living community in a qualifying rural TEA represents a well-structured EB-5 project — generating job creation that is both genuine and far in excess of the 10-job-per-investor requirement. The math works for both investors and communities.
80–130+
Direct jobs created by a 100-bed AL community at stabilized operations
8–13
EB-5 investors supportable at 10 jobs each from direct employment alone
$800K
Minimum investment per investor in qualifying rural or high-unemployment TEA
20%
Of annual EB-5 visas reserved for rural TEA investments — largest set-aside category
Direct job counts for standalone investment. Regional center investments using economic modeling may count indirect and induced jobs — supporting additional investors. Consult an EB-5 economist and immigration attorney for project-specific job creation analysis.
Investment Structure

Two Ways to Invest:
Standalone vs. Regional Center

EB-5 investors may invest either directly in a new commercial enterprise (standalone) or through a USCIS-designated Regional Center that pools multiple investors' capital into qualifying projects. Most senior housing EB-5 projects are structured as regional center investments.

Direct / Standalone Investment
I-526 — Direct Investment
The investor invests directly in a new commercial enterprise and is personally responsible for demonstrating that the investment created 10 full-time direct jobs — employees on the enterprise's payroll, not indirect or induced economic activity.
10 direct jobs required — must be W-2 employees of the enterprise, not contractors or economic modeling
More operational involvement — investor may be expected to have a role in management or policy direction
Higher documentation burden — must document each qualifying job individually
No I-956F required — project does not need advance USCIS approval before investor petition
Less common for senior housing — direct job creation of 10 per investor limits scalability
Regional Center Investment
I-526E — Regional Center
The investor invests through a USCIS-designated Regional Center — a pooled investment vehicle that uses USCIS-approved economic methodology to count direct, indirect, and induced jobs created by the project. This dramatically expands the investor pool a single project can support.
Direct, indirect, and induced jobs count — economic modeling via IMPLAN or RIMS II models total economic impact
I-956F required first — the Regional Center project must obtain USCIS investment offering approval before investor petitions
I-956 Regional Center designation required — the Regional Center itself must be USCIS-designated (547 approved as of Feb 2025)
Passive investment structure — investors typically have no operational role; LP/limited partnership structures common
Most senior housing EB-5 is structured this way — construction spending and operations create substantial indirect/induced job count
Processing Timeline

From Investment
to Permanent Residency

The EB-5 timeline varies significantly by TEA type, investor country of origin, and project structure. Rural TEA projects now receive priority processing — meaningfully shortening the I-526E petition timeline versus non-TEA investments.

Before Investment Pre-Petition
Project Due Diligence & Attorney Engagement
Engage immigration attorney, review project I-956F approval, evaluate project financials and operator track record, document source of funds, confirm TEA eligibility
File Petition I-526E (Regional Center)
Immigrant Investor Petition
USCIS reviews investment amount, source of funds, TEA evidence, and job creation plan. Rural TEA average: ~4.8 months after I-956F approval. Non-TEA: variable, potentially much longer
After Approval DS-260 or I-485
Visa Application or Adjustment of Status
Apply for immigrant visa (abroad) or adjustment of status (U.S.-based). Eligible investors in U.S. may file I-485, I-765, and I-131 concurrently with I-526E under RIA
Years 1–2 Conditional LPR
Conditional Permanent Residence
Investor, spouse, and children under 21 receive conditional green cards valid for 2 years. Investment must remain deployed; jobs must be created. Normal U.S. life permitted.
Year 2+ I-829
Remove Conditions — Permanent Green Card
File I-829 within 90 days before conditional status expires. Prove job creation and sustained investment. Receive unconditional permanent green card. Eligible for naturalization after 5 years (3 if married to U.S. citizen)
Related Resource
Targeted Employment Areas:
The Complete TEA Guide
Haven's companion TEA guide covers rural TEA criteria, high-unemployment designation requirements, the DHS-only designation process post-RIA, visa set-aside allocations, evidence requirements, and why senior housing development is one of the most natural TEA project types in the EB-5 program.
Read the TEA Guide All Capital Solutions
How Haven Supports EB-5

Senior Housing Expertise
for EB-5 Projects

Haven Senior Investments provides real estate advisory and development expertise for the senior housing side of EB-5 projects — not immigration legal services. We work with developers, regional centers, and capital partners integrating senior housing into EB-5 project structures.

For immigration matters — petition preparation, source of funds documentation, I-526/I-526E filing, and I-829 — engage a qualified immigration attorney experienced in EB-5 proceedings. Haven connects developers and regional centers to the senior housing expertise needed on the real estate and operational side. All immigration work is handled by independently licensed professionals.

Senior housing project development advisory
Market feasibility, site analysis, operator selection, and development planning for senior housing communities structured as EB-5 TEA projects in rural and underserved markets
Market feasibility studies for EB-5 senior housing projects
Haven's feasibility studies assess senior housing demand in rural and high-unemployment markets — providing the market validation that developers and regional centers need before committing to EB-5 project structure
Capital stack advisory for senior housing development
Haven evaluates how EB-5 capital fits alongside construction loans, HUD 232, bridge debt, and equity in a senior housing development capital stack — ensuring proper positioning and sizing
Immigration attorney and EB-5 professional referrals
Haven maintains relationships with immigration attorneys and EB-5 economists experienced in senior housing projects — and can make referrals to qualified professionals for immigration-specific elements
Haven Senior Investments provides real estate and development advisory services only. Haven is not an immigration attorney, does not provide immigration advice, and cannot prepare or file EB-5 petitions. EB-5 investments are securities offerings — Haven is not a registered broker-dealer or investment advisor. All immigration and securities matters require appropriately licensed professionals. Confirm all program details, investment thresholds, and eligibility requirements with qualified immigration counsel at the time of your filing — EB-5 rules are subject to change.
EB-5 Senior Housing Inquiry
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Haven Senior Investments · Senior Housing Only

Explore All Senior Housing
Capital Solutions
EB-5 is one capital source among many. Haven advises on HUD 232, C-PACE, SBA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, USDA B&I, and conventional debt — identifying the right combination for each senior housing project.
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