Who does what

Escrow agent

Also called escrow bank, escrow holder.

An escrow agent is the party, usually a bank or trust company, that holds an EB-5 investor's subscription money under a written escrow agreement and releases it to the new commercial enterprise only when the trigger stated in that agreement occurs. No EB-5 statute or regulation defines the role, but USCIS limits what the trigger may be.

What it decides

The law regulates the account and the release, not the title. Under 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(Q)(i) the new commercial enterprise must deposit and maintain each investor's capital in a separate account, "including amounts held in escrow", and (Q)(vi) defines that account as one maintained in the United States at a federally regulated bank or another financial institution as defined in section 20 of title 18, insured, and holding only the pooled funds of investors in a single capital investment project. Unless the duty is waived under (Q)(v), an independent fund administrator, a different party from the escrow agent, cosigns every separate account and must verify each transfer against the governing documents and approve it before money moves. On release, USCIS lets money sit in escrow until the investor holds conditional permanent resident status only where immediate and irrevocable release is contingent on nothing beyond approval of the classification petition under INA 203(b)(5) and either visa issuance and admission as a conditional permanent resident or approval of Form I-485. Escrow held abroad is not prohibited if the petition shows the capital will more likely than not reach the United States enterprise.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(Q)(i), (Q)(iv), (Q)(v) and (Q)(vi), read on the govinfo 2024 United States Code text of section 1153; USCIS Policy Manual, 6 USCIS-PM G.2(A)(2), subheading "Escrow Accounts", on Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 2, Immigrant Petition Eligibility Requirements, retrieved 5 August 2026. The Policy Manual carries the permitted release triggers and the foreign escrow allowance; the statute carries the separate account and fund administrator rules. Neither text defines the term escrow agent.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into escrow agent rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

EscrowEscrow in EB-5 is an arrangement under which an investor's subscription money is held in a designated account under a written escrow agreement and released to the new commercial enterprise only when a stated trigger occurs, rather than passing to the enterprise on subscription.
Fund administrationFund administration is the duty under 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(Q) for a new commercial enterprise to hold each investor's capital in a separate insured United States account and to retain an independent fund administrator over that account. The account requirement cannot be waived; the administrator can be, either by an annual GAAS financial audit shared with DHS and every investor, or by a discretionary waiver where an SEC registered adviser or broker-dealer controls the enterprise.
Subscription agreementA subscription agreement is the contract by which an investor buys an interest in the new commercial enterprise, carrying the price, the investor's representations, the closing conditions and, where the offering uses one, the terms on which money leaves escrow.
New commercial enterpriseA new commercial enterprise, usually shortened to NCE, is the for-profit entity formed in the United States that receives the EB-5 investor's capital and gives the investor an equity stake in return, and it is the enterprise the petition is built around.

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