A filing date is not the complete measure of the business’s employment and financial obligations. Review the actual job and investment requirements and a credible operating plan. Do not assume that submitting the petition ends the need for qualifying evidence or ongoing business resources.
Separate capital, operating costs and fees
Explain how the business is funded and what the invested capital supports. Identify government, project and professional charges separately. A payroll budget does not replace the applicable qualifying capital threshold or guarantee the business will succeed.
Extend the financial model beyond petition submission through job creation and the conditional-residence period. Separate qualifying invested capital from payroll, rent, reserves, project administration, government charges, and professional fees, while showing what expenditures the at-risk capital actually supports. Verify whether the standard US$1,050,000 amount or the US$800,000 targeted-area or infrastructure level applies, and retain lawful source-and-path records. A direct investor files Form I-526; a regional-center participant uses Form I-526E. The enterprise must create ten qualifying full-time jobs, and conditional residents file Form I-829 during the 90-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary of obtaining conditional permanent resident status. Filing does not end operating obligations or promise repayment. The common budgeting error is funding salaries only until the first petition receipt, leaving no credible path to sustain the required positions.
Hypothetical example: A Sherbrooke medical-textile producer budgets a direct US facility through its Form I-526 filing date but omits later payroll and equipment maintenance. Before committing funds, she should model when ten qualifying jobs can be created and maintained, reserve legitimate operating resources, and distinguish filing expenses from capital placed at risk. A well-funded filing package cannot rescue an enterprise whose post-filing plan is financially incoherent.