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Certified Translation for an EB-5 Petition
An EB-5 investor qualifies for a green card by investing $1,050,000, or $800,000 in a targeted employment area or an infrastructure project, in a US business that creates at least 10 full-time jobs. The petition (Form I-526E through a regional center, or I-526 for a standalone investment) turns on where the money came from, and that evidence is usually in the investor's language: years of tax returns, bank statements, sale and loan contracts. Each one needs a complete English translation, with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate it (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)).
USCIS decides
Form I-526E or I-526 first, then the green card (I-485 in the US, or the NVC and a consulate abroad), then Form I-829.
Lawful source of funds
Tax returns, business records and every step that took the money to the investment.
Can run to hundreds of pages
Once seven years of tax returns and the full trail of the funds are in.
At a glance
| EB-5 | |
|---|---|
| Who files | The investor, on Form I-526E (investing through a regional center) or Form I-526 (a standalone investment). |
| Who decides | USCIS decides the petition. The investor then applies for a two-year conditional green card on Form I-485 inside the United States, or through the National Visa Center and a consulate abroad, and files Form I-829 in the 90 days before its second anniversary to remove the conditions. |
| What has to be shown | An investment of $1,050,000 ($800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project), the amounts for petitions filed since March 15, 2022, which are due to be adjusted for petitions filed from January 1, 2027; at risk; creating at least 10 full-time jobs of 35 hours a week or more; with funds from a lawful source and their path documented (Policy Manual). |
| Usually in another language | Foreign business registration records, tax returns filed in any country in the last seven years, bank statements, the contracts and deeds behind each source of money, gift and loan documents, and court records of the past fifteen years. |
| Translation rule | Every document in another language needs a complete English translation, with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate it (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)). |
| Page count | Grows with the number of sources of money and the years they cover. It can run to hundreds of pages, more with several sources of money or several companies. |
Documents that usually need translating
The form instructions name the evidence of a lawful source of funds: foreign business registration records; tax returns of any kind filed in or outside the United States within the last seven years; evidence of any other source of capital; certified copies of judgments and evidence of pending civil or criminal actions against the investor in any court within the past fifteen years; and who transferred capital to the United States on the investor's behalf (Form I-526E instructions). Gifts and loans are allowed, with the donor's or the lender's own lawful source documented unless the lender is a bank (Policy Manual). Which documents go into the file is your attorney's decision; we translate what is chosen, completely, with every stamp, seal and handwritten note. The documents in another language are usually these:
- Tax and business records: personal and company tax returns, business registrations, the formation deed and share records of each company the money came from, and their financial statements.
- Each source of money: payslips and employment letters, the resolutions that paid dividends, the deed or contract of a property, shares or a business sold, loan agreements, what secured them and, for a lender that is not a bank, the lender's own source of funds.
- Gifts and inheritances: the gift agreement and the donor's own source of funds, or the will and the probate records.
- The path of the funds: bank statements and transfer records on every account the money passed through, up to the investment.
- Court records: certified copies of judgments and of pending actions, where there are any.
- For the family: marriage and birth certificates, for the green card stage.
Who reads the translations
USCIS reads the I-526E or I-526 and everything filed with it, any answer to a Request for Evidence, and later the I-829. The rule for every translation is 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).
For the green card itself, an investor in the United States files Form I-485 (see translations for Form I-485); an investor abroad goes through the National Visa Center and a consulate (see Form DS-260 and the NVC), which ask for the family's civil documents.
How many pages to expect
Each sheet of the original counts as one page, whatever its word count. EB-5 files grow with each source of money:
- Tax returns: seven years of personal returns and, for each company, its own.
- Bank statements: every month of every account the funds passed through.
- Deeds, contracts and corporate records: several pages each, with notarial stamps and annotations translated too.
Files of hundreds of pages are quoted as a project, with one glossary for the names of people, companies and banks across every document, and delivered in dated batches: business immigration translation.
Official sources
Every requirement on this page was checked against these sources on November 5, 2026.
- Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 2, EB-5 eligibility (uscis.gov)
- About the EB-5 visa classification (uscis.gov)
- Form I-526E instructions, edition 01/20/25 (uscis.gov)
- Form I-526 instructions, edition 01/20/25 (uscis.gov)
- 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), translations (ecfr.gov)
Frequently asked questions
How far back do the records have to go?
The form instructions ask for tax returns filed within the last seven years and court records of the past fifteen years. How far back to trace each source of money is your attorney's decision.
Do you translate the investor's and the donor's documents together?
Yes, in one project and with one glossary, so names, companies and banks read the same across every document USCIS compares.
Do the translations need to be notarized?
Not for USCIS: 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) asks for the translator's certification, not a notary. If another office asks for notarization, it is $34.90 per order.
Are amounts converted into US dollars?
No. Figures stay in the currency of the original, with the dates beside them, so the conversion can be done at the rate of the right date.
Have the documents in front of you?
Upload them and see the page count, the price and the delivery time before you pay. For a file of hundreds of pages, ask for a project quote.