glossarybasicsreference
EB-5 filings, offering documents, and USCIS notices rely heavily on abbreviations. This glossary groups the most common terms by topic and gives the Chinese equivalent and a one-line definition, so that investors can check contracts and official notices quickly. Definitions are general; the controlling text is INA 203(b)(5), 8 CFR 204.6, and USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 6 Part G.
Entities and parties
| Term | 中文 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| NCE (New Commercial Enterprise) | 新商业企业 | The entity into which the investor contributes capital and receives an interest, usually a limited partnership or LLC. |
| JCE (Job Creating Entity) | 就业创造企业 | The entity that actually uses the funds to build or operate the project and generates the jobs, often a developer’s project company. |
| RC (Regional Center) | 区域中心 | A USCIS-designated economic unit through which investors may count indirect and induced jobs. |
| Fund administrator | 基金管理人 | The RIA-required third party that verifies NCE fund movements; annual audited financial statements are an alternative. |
| Principal applicant | 主申请人 | The investor who files the I-526E. |
| Derivative | 衍生受益人 | The spouse and unmarried children under 21 who apply with the principal. |
Areas and quotas
| Term | 中文 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| TEA (Targeted Employment Area) | 目标就业区 | A rural or high-unemployment area where the $800,000 threshold applies; designated by DHS/USCIS. |
| HUA (High-Unemployment Area) | 高失业区 | A census tract with unemployment at least 150 percent of the national average, which may be combined with directly adjacent tracts. |
| Rural | 农村地区 | An area outside any metropolitan statistical area and outside any town with a population of 20,000 or more. |
| Set-aside | 预留签证 | Visa categories the RIA reserves for rural (20 percent), high-unemployment (10 percent), and infrastructure (2 percent) projects. |
| Unreserved | 非预留签证 | The remaining 68 percent of visas, used by projects outside the three set-aside categories. |
| Chargeability | 国别计算 | The rule that charges an applicant’s visa to the per-country quota of their country of birth. |
| Cross-chargeability | 交叉国别计算 | Charging the principal to the spouse’s country of birth under certain conditions to ease the backlog. |
Visa Bulletin and queue
| Term | 中文 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Priority Date | 优先日期 | The I-526E filing date, which fixes the applicant’s place in the queue. |
| Final Action Date | 最终裁定日 | The Chart A cutoff that governs whether a green card or visa can be finally approved. |
| Dates for Filing | 递件日期 | The Chart B cutoff that governs whether an I-485 can be filed or the NVC stage can begin. |
| Retrogression | 排期倒退 | A cutoff date moving backward from the prior month, temporarily removing availability from applicants who were current. |
| Visa Bulletin | 签证公告牌 | The State Department’s monthly table of visa availability. |
Forms and status
| Term | 中文 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| I-526E | 区域中心投资人移民申请 | The post-RIA immigrant petition for regional center investors; direct investors use I-526. |
| I-829 | 解除条件申请 | Filed within 90 days before the conditional green card’s second anniversary to show investment and job requirements are met. |
| I-485 | 身份调整申请 | The application for a green card from inside the U.S.; may be filed concurrently with I-526E. |
| I-956 | 区域中心指定申请 | The application for regional center designation. |
| I-956F | 项目申请 | The per-project application a regional center files; investor I-526E adjudication depends on its approval. |
| I-956G | 区域中心年报 | The annual regional center statement disclosing fund use, job creation, and project progress. |
| I-956H | 诚信声明 | The bona fides declaration for persons involved with a regional center. |
| I-956K | 推广人登记 | Registration for direct and third-party promoters, including migration agents. |
| CPR (Conditional Permanent Resident) | 有条件永久居民 | Status held under a two-year conditional green card. |
| LPR (Lawful Permanent Resident) | 合法永久居民 | Status held under a permanent green card. |
| EAD (Employment Authorization Document) | 工作许可 | The work permit requested on Form I-765, often filed with I-485. |
| AP (Advance Parole) | 回美证 | Travel authorization requested on Form I-131 for use while I-485 is pending. |
| DS-260 | 移民签证申请 | The online immigrant visa application used in consular processing. |
| NVC (National Visa Center) | 国家签证中心 | The State Department unit that processes documents before the consular interview. |
| Consular processing | 领馆程序 | Obtaining the immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad and becoming a conditional resident on entry. |
| Immigrant fee | 移民费 | The USCIS fee paid after visa issuance for production of the green card. |
Adjudication and family
| Term | 中文 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| RFE (Request for Evidence) | 补件通知 | A USCIS request for additional evidence, answered within a stated deadline. |
| NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) | 拟拒通知 | A USCIS notice of a proposed denial with an opportunity to respond. |
| CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) | 儿童身份保护法 | Freezes a child’s age during I-526E adjudication; the child must seek to acquire status within one year of visa availability. |
| I-526E deference | I-526E 遵从原则 | USCIS generally does not revisit at the I-829 stage matters already decided in the I-526E, absent fraud or material error. |
| Material change | 重大变更 | A change in the project or investment structure significant enough to affect eligibility; before I-526E approval it may result in denial. |
| Source of funds | 资金来源 | The evidentiary chain showing the investment was lawfully obtained. |
| Path of funds | 资金路径 | The evidentiary chain tracing the investment from its origin to the NCE account. |
| Grandfathering | 祖父条款 | I-526E petitions filed on or before September 30, 2026 continue to be adjudicated even if the program later lapses. |
| Sunset | 到期停摆 | The lapse of the regional center program when its authorization (currently September 30, 2027) expires without extension. |
| Reauthorization | 再授权 | Congressional legislation extending the regional center program. |
Investment structure and exit
| Term | 中文 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| At risk | 处于风险 | Capital must face a genuine possibility of gain or loss; no guarantees. |
| Sustainment | 投资维持 | The period during which capital must remain at risk; at least two years from contribution to the NCE for post-RIA investors. |
| Redeployment | 资金再投资 | Reinvestment by the NCE into lawful U.S. commercial activity after JCE repayment to keep satisfying sustainment. |
| PPM (Private Placement Memorandum) | 私募备忘录 | The core offering document disclosing the project, risks, fees, and terms. |
| Subscription agreement | 认购协议 | The contract by which the investor subscribes for an NCE interest and makes representations and warranties. |
| Escrow | 托管账户 | An account where investment funds are held by a third party until agreed conditions are met. |
| Bridge financing | 过桥融资 | Short-term capital advanced before EB-5 funds arrive and later replaced by them. |
| Capital stack | 资本结构 | The layers of project funding ordered by repayment priority: senior debt, mezzanine, preferred equity, common equity. |
| Mezzanine | 夹层融资 | A debt layer behind senior debt and ahead of equity, with intermediate risk and return. |
| Preferred equity | 优先股权 | An equity layer paid before common equity but after debt. |
| Completion guarantee | 完工担保 | A developer’s or guarantor’s undertaking that the project will be completed. |
| Exit | 退出 | The process by which the NCE recovers capital and distributes it to investors. |
| Repayment | 还款 | The JCE’s return of funds to the NCE under the loan or equity agreement. |
Job estimation
| Term | 中文 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| RIMS II | RIMS II 模型 | The Bureau of Economic Analysis regional input-output multiplier model used to estimate indirect and induced jobs. |
| IMPLAN | IMPLAN 模型 | A commercial input-output model commonly used as an alternative in EB-5 economic reports. |
| Job cushion | 就业余量 | The margin by which projected jobs exceed the number required. |
Oversight and integrity
| Term | 中文 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Integrity Fund | 诚信基金 | Established by the RIA to fund USCIS oversight and audits; investors pay $1,000 and regional centers pay an annual fee by size. |
Key takeaways
- The NCE receives the investor’s money and the JCE spends it to create jobs; keeping them separate is the standard regional center structure.
- Set-aside visas (rural, high-unemployment, infrastructure) and unreserved visas queue separately, each with its own row in the Visa Bulletin.
- Chart A governs final approval and Chart B governs filing; both cutoffs are compared against the priority date.
- “At risk” and “sustainment” are the requirements that run from I-526E through I-829, and redeployment rules follow from them.
- The PPM, subscription agreement, and escrow terms are the three documents investors should read word by word.