EB-5 Concurrent Filing: from the E-2 to a green card without leaving America

If you already live in the US lawfully, you don't have to go back to a consulate for your EB-5 green card. Adjustment of status with Form I-485 can start together with the petition, as long as a visa is immediately available. That saves time, but you need a plan for work, travel and the status you currently hold.

Many families considering the EB-5 green card are already here. They live in Texas or Florida on an E-2, the kids go to school here, and the business is up and running. For them, the question isn't how to get in, but how to stay without putting their current status at risk. US law offers a dedicated route for exactly this: adjustment of status inside the country, and with EB-5 even at the same time as the petition. This guide explains when that works, what applies while you wait, and what E-2 holders need to watch out for.

1What Concurrent Filing means for EB-5

Normally a green card takes two steps: first USCIS approves the petition, then comes the immigrant visa at the consulate or adjustment of status in the US. For EB-5, the statute expressly provides that an adjustment application counts as properly filed, whether it comes with the petition or later, if approval of the petition would make a visa immediately available to the investor. USCIS describes it the same way: if a visa is immediately available, you can file the I-485 together with the I-526 or I-526E, while it's pending, or after it's approved.

The advantage is obvious. Instead of waiting for the petition to be approved before starting the final step, both run in parallel. And once your I-485 is filed, you can apply for a work permit and travel permission that no longer depend on your current visa.

Whether a visa is immediately available is shown in the monthly Visa Bulletin. For the I-485, USCIS decides each month which of its two charts applies. For November 2026, that was the Dates for Filing chart for all employment-based categories, and there EB-5 was listed as C for every country except China and India. What counts is the country your visa is charged to, usually your country of birth. The guide on processing times explains how the bulletin works.

2Who can apply to adjust status in the US

Adjustment of status comes with requirements you should check before filing the first form. The most important: you must have entered lawfully, meaning on a visa such as the E-2, L-1 or H-1B, and been inspected at entry.

If you entered on ESTA, without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program, you generally can't adjust status. The exception applies only to immediate relatives of US citizens, not to investors. So if you're visiting a project in the US today as a visitor, you can't simply apply for the EB-5 green card from inside the country. Your route goes through the consulate. More on ESTA and the visitor visa under ESTA and the B-1 visa.

For employment-based categories, the law also requires that you have maintained your status continuously. Since 2022, EB-5 investors benefit from a tolerance rule: if you entered lawfully, you can still adjust status as long as, since your entry, you have not spent more than 180 days in total out of status, working without authorization or violating the terms of your visa. This rule is a safety net for small mistakes, not a buffer to plan with.

3Working and traveling while your I-485 is pending

Once your I-485 is filed, you can apply for two documents. The work permit, filed on Form I-765, lets you and every family member with their own I-485 work in the US, independent of an employer or an E-2 business. For spouses and adult children, that is often the real payoff of Concurrent Filing.

The travel permit is called Advance Parole and is requested on Form I-131. It is the single most important rule in this guide. If you leave the US while your I-485 is pending without having received Advance Parole first, the regulations treat your application as abandoned. The only exception is for holders of H-1 or L-1 status who return to the same employer with a valid visa. That exception does not apply to the E-2. So the Christmas trip to see your parents back home waits until Advance Parole is in your hands.

If you travel on Advance Parole, you are inspected on return and admitted as a parolee. If your I-485 is later denied, the law treats you as an applicant for admission. That too belongs in the decision of whether a trip is really necessary.

One last practical point: if you file the forms together, pay each fee separately. A single combined payment for the petition and the I-485 will get the whole package sent back by USCIS.

4From E-2 to EB-5: what changes for your status

The E-2 is a nonimmigrant visa. Applicants don't need to keep a home abroad and may move their entire household to the US. They must, however, declare that they will leave the US when their E status ends. In the normal case, that declaration is enough.

The EB-5 petition changes that. The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual is explicit: a beneficiary of an immigrant petition who applies for an E visa must convince the consular officer that they intend to depart at the end of their stay and not remain in the US or adjust status. Anyone who has filed an I-526E is exactly that: the beneficiary of an immigrant petition.

That dictates the order of things. If your E-2 visa is expiring soon, sort out the renewal before the petition is filed, or plan so that you don't need to leave the US until you have your green card. The second part depends on Concurrent Filing: if a visa is immediately available and the I-485 is filed, adjustment of status carries you through the wait, and Advance Parole covers travel. The other routes from the E-2 to a green card are covered in the guide Switching from the E-2 visa to a green card.

5Can your E-2 business be your EB-5 investment?

For E-2 entrepreneurs, the question is an obvious one: can the business you've already put money into become the basis of a direct investment? In principle yes, if it meets the EB-5 requirements. The key points:

The amount. For petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022, EB-5 requires at least $1,050,000, or $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area. For petitions filed on or after January 1, 2027, the amounts are adjusted for inflation. Many E-2 businesses were set up with far less capital. Then the difference is missing, and it has to actually flow into the business and be placed at risk there. The guide on the investment amount sets out which figures apply.

The new commercial enterprise. The business must have been established after November 29, 1990, or an older one must become new through restructuring, or grow by at least 40 percent in net worth or headcount as a result of the investment. An E-2 business you founded will usually meet the first test.

The ten jobs. With a direct investment, at least ten full-time jobs must be created directly in the business, each with at least 35 hours a week. And they must be filled by qualifying employees: US citizens, permanent residents and other people authorized to work. You, your spouse, your children and anyone in nonimmigrant status don't count. So staff you brought over from Europe on an E-2 visa are not included.

Source of funds. Even capital that went into the E-2 years ago has to be traced back to its lawful source for the EB-5. If you kept your E-2 records in good order, you have an edge here. The details are in the guide on source of funds.

6The order that works

From these rules, a proven sequence emerges for E-2 families.

First, check every family member's status: is it valid, when does it expire, did anyone enter on ESTA? Then check the country of chargeability and the Visa Bulletin for the month you plan to file. Next comes the choice between a direct investment in your own business and a Regional Center project. The visa roadmap puts these checks in writing for each family member. Only once the capital and evidence are in place do you file the package: petition, one I-485 per person, plus I-765 and I-131, each fee paid separately.

Until Advance Parole arrives, you stay in the country. Your E-2 business carries on as before during this time, because until the I-485 is decided, it is often still the foundation of your daily life. The guide to the EB-5 process walks through the full sequence up to the I-829.

7When no visa is immediately available

If the relevant chart shows a cutoff date for your country and your priority date falls after it, you can't file the I-485 yet. You can still file the petition and secure your place in line. The I-485 follows as soon as your priority date is current.

During this time, your current status continues to carry you. For E-2 holders, what we said above about the Foreign Affairs Manual matters most here: renewing your E-2 visa at a consulate gets harder once an immigrant petition is pending, because you have to show that you intend to leave. So plan your visa appointments and travel before the petition is filed. If you are heading home for a while anyway, consular processing may be the better route.

8The L-1: a dual intent visa

If you own a company back home in Europe, there is an alternative to the E-2 as a bridge. The L-1 for executives, managers and specialists is a dual intent visa: you can openly intend to stay permanently without putting your status at risk. For travel while the I-485 is pending, the regulations include a specific exception for L-1 holders who return to the same employer and hold a valid visa.

Whether the L-1 works for you depends on your company at home and on one year of employment there. You will find the requirements in our guide to the L-1 visa, and a comparison of both routes in our guide to the L-1 and E-2.

In short

• The law allows you to file the I-485 together with the EB-5 petition or afterwards, as long as a visa is immediately available. For people born in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the EB-5 was listed as C in the relevant chart in November 2026.
• Adjustment of status requires a lawful entry. If you entered on ESTA, you generally cannot apply for it.
• While the I-485 is pending, you can get a work permit and advance parole. If you leave without advance parole, you abandon your application; the exception applies only to H-1 and L-1 holders.
• E-2 holders with an immigrant petition must show the consulate that they intend to leave at the end of their stay. That makes renewing the visa abroad tricky.
• An E-2 company can serve as the EB-5 investment if the amount, the structure and ten direct jobs for qualifying employees all fit.

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