Process and timing

90 day filing window

Also called Ninety day filing window, 90-day window, I-829 filing window, I-829 filing period, 90 day window to file Form I-829, 90-day period before the second anniversary.

The 90 day filing window is the 90 day period immediately preceding the second anniversary of the date an EB-5 investor obtained conditional permanent residence, and it is the period in which Form I-829 must be filed to remove the conditions; filing early gets the petition rejected and failing to file terminates status on that anniversary.

What it decides

8 U.S.C. 1186b(d)(2)(A)(i) and 8 CFR 216.6(a)(1)(i) run the window back from the second anniversary of the date the investor obtained conditional permanent residence, which USCIS states is the expiration date printed on the conditional Green Card. A properly filed petition extends conditional status automatically until USCIS adjudicates it. Filing before the window opens may get the petition rejected; failing to file terminates status as of the second anniversary, with a notice of termination, a notice to appear and removal proceedings, though a late petition may still be accepted on a discretionary showing of good cause and extenuating circumstances under 1186b(d)(2)(B). Two statutory shifts move the date. A good faith investor who invests in another new commercial enterprise after a regional center termination, or who after a debarment associates with a compliant enterprise and invests additional capital, under 1153(b)(5)(M)(ii)(I)(bb) and (M)(ii)(II), counts 90 days from the second anniversary of that subsequent investment; where jobs are still being created USCIS may extend conditional status one year, a further petition then due within 30 days after the third anniversary.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1186b(d)(2)(A)(i) for the window; 1186b(d)(2)(A)(ii) read with 1153(b)(5)(M)(ii)(I)(bb), (M)(ii)(II) and (M)(iv) for the subsequent investment reset; 1186b(d)(2)(B) for late filing on good cause and extenuating circumstances; 1186b(c)(2)(A) for termination as of the second anniversary; 1186b(c)(3)(B)(ii) for the one year extension and the further petition due within 30 days after the third anniversary. 8 CFR 216.6(a)(1)(i) for the window and the automatic extension until USCIS has adjudicated the petition, and 8 CFR 216.6(a)(5) for automatic termination, the notice of termination, the notice to appear and late acceptance. USCIS Form I-829 page, last reviewed 1 June 2026, is the source for the card expiration date equalling the second anniversary and for rejection of an early filing, neither of which the statute or regulation states.

Related terms

Form I-829Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, is the petition an EB-5 conditional permanent resident files in the 90 days before the second anniversary of that status, asking USCIS to confirm the capital was invested and the ten jobs created and to make the green card unconditional.
Removal of conditionsRemoval of conditions is the last EB-5 filing, Form I-829, submitted in the 90 days before the second anniversary of conditional residence, in which the investor shows the required capital was invested and kept invested for the period the law requires and that ten full-time jobs were created or can be expected within a reasonable time.
Conditional permanent residenceConditional permanent residence is the status an EB-5 investor and their spouse and children hold for the first two years: full lawful permanent residence, evidenced by a Green Card valid for two years, whose conditional basis must be removed on Form I-829 or the status ends.
Extension noticeAn extension notice is the Form I-797 receipt USCIS issues on a properly filed Form I-829 which, carried together with the expired conditional Green Card, is evidence of continued conditional permanent resident status, of work authorization and of the right to return after temporary travel abroad.
Good faith investor protectionGood faith investor protection is the rule at 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(M) that keeps an EB-5 petition or conditional residence alive after USCIS terminates the regional center or debars the new commercial enterprise or job creating entity, provided the investor cures within 180 days of being notified and was not a knowing participant in the conduct behind it.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary