Can I apply for EB-5 while my company is generating income to fund the investment?

EB-5 regulations require that when you file an I-526 petition, the funds must have been invested or in the process of being invested. The income must derive from your personal funds and not money generated by a company, even though it is owned by you.

Company''s cannot apply for EB-5, it has to be an individual. If that is the source of your personal income, you will have to wait until you have the funds, as the entire amount has to be in escrow at a minimum at the time you apply for your I-526.

It depends upon the project that you are investing in and if it allows for sequential investment or a lump sum investment.

The EB-5 rules state that the investor must, at the time of filing the I-526 petition, either have already invested the funds or be in the process of investing the funds, which means all the required funds of $500,000.00 must be held in escrow until the I-526 is approved.

Income generated within a business is not considered an investment. You would have to take the income out of the business, pay income tax on it, and then reinvest it.

If you don't have the full investment amount in hand, I am not sure how you could start the EB-5 process before. While you could do a Promissory Note of fully funding the I-526 to show that you are actively in process of investing, to get the I-526 filed, it will all depends on whether the project/business you are investing will accept that (most regional centers probably will not), and whether the business plan and job creation, etc. will all support the investment funding coming in much later. Also, please note that EB-5 investment requirement is $1 million, not $500,000. The $500,000 investment amount is an exception to the rule only if the business is located in rural area or Targeted Employment Area. This rule and exception applies to every EB-5 cases, whether you do the direct investment or through a regional center project.

You need to be able to show how each dollar of the $500,000 was earned and transferred to the business. That is, the $500,000 must be in your possession before filing the I-526.