Who does what

Derivative beneficiary

Also called derivative, derivative applicant, dependents.

A derivative beneficiary is the spouse or unmarried child under 21 of an EB-5 investor who, under 8 U.S.C. 1153(d), takes the same classification, the same order of consideration and the same priority date as the investor without filing a petition of their own.

What it decides

Each derivative consumes an EB-5 visa number in their own right, out of the 7.1 percent of the worldwide employment based level that 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(A) gives the category, because the regional center subparagraph makes visas available to qualified immigrants and the eligible spouses and children of those immigrants alike. The D.C. Circuit confirmed that reading in Wang v. Blinken. A family of five therefore draws five numbers rather than one, which is why household size moves the backlog as much as the number of investors does. Derivatives take conditional residence on the same footing as the principal and may be included in the investor's Form I-829. Where they are not included, the spouse and each child must file a petition of their own, unless the investor has died, in which case they may file separately or in one petition. A child who turned 21 or married, or a spouse who divorced the investor, during conditional residence may be included in the investor's petition or must each file separately.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1153(d) for the entitlement to the same status and order of consideration, 1153(b)(5)(A) for the 7.1 percent and 1153(b)(5)(E)(i) for visas made available to qualified immigrants and their eligible spouses and children, with 8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1) for the definition of child; 8 CFR 216.6(a)(1)(ii) for inclusion in the investor's Form I-829, the separate petitions where they are not included, the exception where the investor is deceased and the aged out, married or divorced family member; Wang v. Blinken, No. 20-5076, 3 F.4th 479 (D.C. Cir. 2021), decided 9 July 2021, supports the counting point but has no working government URL, since the court's own opinion PDF link now returns 404 and the reporter citation had to be confirmed on CourtListener.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into derivative beneficiary rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

Child Status Protection ActThe Child Status Protection Act is the 2002 statute that can keep a derivative child of an EB-5 investor a child by subtracting the days the parent's petition was pending from the child's age on the date a visa became available, so only adjudication time comes off and the wait in the visa queue does not.
BacklogBacklog is the demand already waiting ahead of an investor in the same visa category, the same country of chargeability and, since the 2022 set-asides, the same reserved or unreserved pool, which must be worked through before a visa number reaches them.
Per country limitThe 7 percent ceiling, in 8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2), on the family and employment preference immigrant visas that natives of any single foreign state may receive in a fiscal year. It is measured against the family and employment preference totals combined rather than against each category separately, and dependent areas get 2 percent.
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.

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