The investor’s children are excluded from the qualifying EB-5 job count even when they are not derivatives or hold separate work permission. Their employment eligibility and the project’s job-count rules are different questions. Do not use that position to meet the required ten jobs.
Keep family eligibility separate
Assess the relatives seeking residence under the actual relationship and age rules, including any case-specific age protection. An eligible derivative generally does not need another full investment. Paying more or employing a relative does not itself establish a family immigration benefit.
Keep two ledgers: one for derivative eligibility and another for job creation. An investor’s spouse and children are excluded from qualifying EB-5 employment counts, despite a relative’s separate work authorization or derivative ineligibility. For residence, confirm the marriage and whether each child is unmarried and under 21, then analyze any applicable age protection using actual dates. Eligible derivatives accompany or follow the principal without making a separate qualifying investment. For most projects the required capital is US$1,050,000. An eligible targeted-area or infrastructure investment uses US$800,000; ten full-time jobs and lawful source-and-path proof remain necessary. Conditional residence is granted for two years, and Form I-829 ordinarily must be filed during the 90-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary. Counting a relative to solve both ledgers is the recurring mistake.
Hypothetical example: A Sherbrooke modular-housing investor’s 23-year-old son has independent US work permission and designs panels for the direct enterprise. His wages and status do not turn him into a qualifying EB-5 worker because he is the investor’s child, and his age also requires a separate family analysis. The hiring plan should add an eligible full-time position, while counsel reviews which spouse or younger children may derive residence from the investor’s Form I-526 case.