How can I apply for the EB-5 program based on a $60,000 salary?

An experienced EB-5 immigration attorney will be able to advise you. If you are living in a foreign country, you may be an EB-5 unaccredited investor and your salary of $60,000 may be acceptable. Under acceptable circumstances, you may use loan proceeds towards your personal investment funds.

A loan secured by your personal assets and not the project you are investing in could work.

You would need a loan; the salary only comes into effect if you are trying to prove that you are an "accredited investor" with assets above and beyond your initial investment. Seek the advice of an attorney.

You do not have to earn a particular salary to invest in the EB-5 program. Instead, you have to prove that the funds that you invest came from a legitimate source. Loans are permitted, but they must be secured against personal assets that have a value equal to or greater than the loan. You cannot invest in the EB-5 program in installments.

You should be able to demonstrate that your earnings generated the requisite minimum investment amount over time in order to qualify for the EB-5 program, such as a $500,000 investment in a regional center project. If the earnings are insufficient to have generated the requisite investment amount and you do not have a gift of funds or an asset to sell that would generate funds, a loan is another possible alternative if it is secured by your personal assets.

The eligibility standard for qualifying as an EB-5 investor is either earning $200,000 per year or having net assets of $1 million without counting your primary home. The reason for this standard is since EB-5 investment must be at risk, only those people with the above kind of income or assets are able to put at least $500,000 at risk to attempt the EB-5 process without losing their home or being put in bankruptcy. Please note that the standard will be changed if the minimum investment amount increases to $800,000 in the future as we expect the Congress to do.

Loans have to be secured by personal assets. With that salary you need a gift to apply.