E. Fifth Preference

The Fifth Preference category is for foreign investors. It allows conditional residency for a person who invests $ 1 million (or under certain circumstances $500,000) in a new commercial enterprise that employs ten full‑time U.S. workers. The investor must directly manage the business or at least be involved through policy formation. A "new commercial enterprise" includes creating a new business, purchasing a business and reorganizing it, or expanding an existing business by forty percent. The investment might be in cash or cash equivalents, equipment, inventory, or other tangible property. Indebtedness secured by the assets of the entrepreneur might also be considered part of the investment.