EB-5 terms explained.

EB-5

The employment-based fifth-preference immigrant investor category.

TEA

A targeted employment area: a qualifying rural area or high-unemployment area.

NCE

New commercial enterprise: the entity into which qualifying capital is invested.

JCE

Job-creating entity: the business that creates the qualifying employment.

Regional center

A USCIS-designated entity associated with qualifying investment activity; designation is not a guarantee of a project or investor outcome.

I-526E

The immigrant petition filed by an investor under the EB-5 Regional Center Program.

Priority date

The date generally used to establish your place in a visa queue.

Chargeability

The country used for visa allocation, usually based on birth rather than residence.

Reserved visas

Visa set-asides for eligible rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure investments.

Retrogression

A visa cutoff moves backwards because demand exceeds available numbers.

Adjustment of status

An eligible person in the U.S. applies to become a permanent resident without consular processing abroad.

I-829

The petition to remove conditions on EB-5 permanent residence.

CSPA

Child Status Protection Act; rules that may affect a derivative child’s calculated age.

Capital at risk

Capital exposed to a chance of gain and a risk of loss; repayment cannot be assumed.

Redeployment

Further deployment of capital, where relevant under the governing rules and documents; obtain case-specific advice.

Sources: U.S. Code · EB-5 statutory text (2024 edition) · USCIS · I-526E instructions · USCIS · I-829 instructions · Department of State · October 2026 Visa Bulletin