Identify which amounts actually qualify as capital under the applicable rules and arrangement.
Read the components of the total
An invoice may combine different obligations. Do not assume its headline amount satisfies the capital requirement without understanding the actual payment purposes, source and risk.
Break the invoice into qualifying capital, administrative charges, professional services, reserves, and refundable items, then match each line to the governing agreement and receiving account. The applicable investment is generally US$1,050,000, reduced to US$800,000 for a targeted employment area or infrastructure project; the qualifying amount must be invested or actively in the process of being invested through an actual, irrevocable at-risk commitment under the arrangement, not inferred from an invoice total. Trace its lawful source and path and test the plan for ten full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers. Use Form I-526 for a direct investment and Form I-526E for a regional-center investment. The investor should participate in management or policy formulation. Successful processing leads first to two-year conditional residence, with Form I-829 due during the 90-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary, not immediate unconditional residence.
Hypothetical example: a Magog commercial-laundry operator receives one invoice covering a direct American laundry plant, legal work, equipment deposits, and a refundable maintenance reserve. He should reconcile the operating agreement, wires, vendor contracts, and refund terms before claiming the capital threshold. His business plan and hiring evidence must support ten qualifying full-time positions rather than contractors or the investor’s family. If he proceeds independently of a regional center, the petition choice is Form I-526; writing a cheque above the threshold does not settle what was actually invested or irrevocably committed at risk.