Process and timing

Lawful permanent resident

Also called LPR, green card holder, permanent resident.

A lawful permanent resident is a person lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20), and it is the status an EB-5 case delivers: conditional for the first two years, then unconditional once Form I-829 is approved.

What it decides

The status does not expire when the card does. It runs until the holder naturalizes, abandons it, is ordered removed, or has it rescinded, which USCIS may do within five years of approval where the person was never eligible. Form I-551, the green card, is evidence of the status and of work authorization rather than the status itself. The duties arrive with it. 26 U.S.C. 7701(b)(1)(A)(i) makes a lawful permanent resident a US tax resident on worldwide income for any calendar year in which the status is held, subject only to the tax treaty tie breaker in 7701(b)(6), and 8 U.S.C. 1305(a) requires written notice of every change of address within ten days. An EB-5 investor holds the status on a conditional basis under 8 U.S.C. 1186b, and 8 CFR 216.1 gives a conditional resident the same rights, privileges, responsibilities and duties as any other permanent resident.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) for the definition; 8 U.S.C. 1186b (INA 216A) for the conditional basis in an EB-5 case; 8 CFR 216.1 for the equivalence of conditional and unconditional residents; 26 U.S.C. 7701(b)(1)(A)(i) and 7701(b)(6) for tax residence and the treaty tie breaker; 8 U.S.C. 1305(a) for the ten day address notice. USCIS, Maintaining Permanent Residence, last updated 12 September 2025, is the source for abandonment, rescission and removal as the other ways the status ends, but it carries none of the statutory definitions.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into lawful permanent resident rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

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.
NaturalizationNaturalization is the process by which a lawful permanent resident becomes a US citizen, requiring under 8 U.S.C. 1427(a) five years of continuous residence after lawful admission for permanent residence, physical presence for at least half of that time, three months in the state where the application is filed, and good moral character.
Abandonment of residenceAbandonment of residence is the loss of lawful permanent resident status that follows from conduct showing the holder no longer intends to make the United States a permanent home, most often moving abroad for good, staying out on what is no longer a temporary visit, or claiming nonresident status on a US tax return.
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.
Adjustment of statusAdjustment of status is the process under 8 U.S.C. 1255 by which someone already in the United States becomes a permanent resident without leaving, on Form I-485, instead of collecting an immigrant visa at a consulate abroad. An EB-5 investor who adjusts is granted conditional permanent residence for two years, the same status a consular applicant receives on admission.

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