After an alien investor chooses the project into which he or she wants to invest the requisite capital, the process of self-petitioning for an EB-5 visa comprises three basic steps:
- Submitting Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
- Filing for conditional permanent residence through either:
- An adjustment of status petition (with a Form I-485 application), if the investor is in the U.S.; or
- Consular processing, if the investor is outside the U.S.
- Before conditional permanent residence expires, submitting Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, to USCIS; after the alien’s I-829 is approved, he or she receives a permanent green card.