What are physical presence requirements for EB-5 investors?

There is no 180-day rule. If you have a green card, you are expected to live here and pay taxes. You are allowed to be abroad for a few months with good reason. If you out for more than one year, the green card is technically terminated. For this reason, you should apply for a re-entry permit which authorizes absences of up to two years, if approved.

There are several issues regarding absences, including the maintenance of green card status and the eligibility for citizenship. If the planned absence is more than six months or likely, then file a Reentry Permit to help with the maintenance of PR status. You would still need to pay U.S. taxes on worldwide income, and also maintain a residence and other ties to the U.S.

All permanent residents (conditional ones included) are subject to an admissibility inquiry if returning to the U.S. following an absence of 6 months or more. There is no physical presence requirement for lawful permanent residents (LPRs), which generally comes up in the context of naturalization, other than that an LPR is supposed to be residing in the U.S. full time. That is why you applied for permanent residency.

Conditional lawful permanent residents are subject to the same rules and have the same responsibilities as lawful permanent residents without conditions. One of those responsibilities is to maintain the intention to permanently reside in the United States. If a permanent resident is absent from the United States on any given trip for more than 180 days, it raises a rebuttable presumption that the person no longer intends to reside permanently in the United States. Such a presumption (after an absence of 180 days or more, but less than one year) can be rebutted and overcome by showing (1) proof of ties to the United States, such as tax returns, property ownership/lease agreement, employment, bank statements, insurance, utility bills, etc. and (2) the reason for the temporary, albeit extended, absence from the United States, such as caring for elderly/sick relatives, winding up property sales or business interests, or being unable to obtain air travel reservations due to COVID, etc. Finally, keep in mind that the physical presence rule to maintain your permanent residence is different from the requirements for naturalization to become a U.S. citizen. The naturalization requirements are more strict and have both physical presence and continuous residence requirements. Just because you can maintain your permanent residence does not mean you will qualify for naturalization. Also, if you need to spend extended time outside of the United States, you should obtain a reentry permit, which is valid for two years. It will protect your permanent resident status during its validity.