Funding a case does not create derivative eligibility. Eligible family generally means a spouse and unmarried children under 21, subject to applicable immigrant age-protection rules.
Keep the lender and household roles distinct
Identify who is lending and who actually intends to immigrate. A parent or other relative does not gain a derivative place by supplying funds. Assess each intended applicant’s relationship and case dates separately; paying or lending does not itself grant residence or work authorization.
Eligibility for inclusion and any age protection under the Child Status Protection Act require individualized calculation; visa availability and the timing of specific filings affect the outcome, and a child's age is not automatically frozen simply because the investment was made or the petition filed. Age is measured at a statutory moment rather than at filing, and the Child Status Protection Act can subtract certain periods from a child's age in defined circumstances, which sometimes preserves eligibility for someone who passes twenty-one during processing. Keep school enrolment plans separate from status eligibility, since neither a school admission nor an investment payment extends a child's qualifying age or guarantees the whole family completes the process together.
- USCIS — EB-5 investor program
- USCIS — business and investment visa overview
- USCIS — Child Status Protection Act
- Department of State — Visa Bulletin
- USCIS — fee schedule
- 8 USC 1153(b)(5) — investor capital and adjustment provisions
- USCIS — Form I-829
- Current EB5 capital, gift and loan provisions
- USCIS I829 instructions