Money and structure

Matter of Izummi

Also called Izummi, In re Izummi.

Matter of Izummi is the 1998 EB-5 precedent decision, thirteen holdings long, that treats an agreement giving the investor a right to be repaid as a debt arrangement barred by 8 CFR 204.6(e), so the money was never a contribution of capital and was never at risk.

What it decides

In re Izummi, Interim Decision 3360, 22 I&N Dec. 169, decided 13 July 1998 by the Associate Commissioner, Examinations, affirmed a denial and still supplies three rules USCIS applies every day. A promise to buy the investor's interest back at the investor's option is a debt arrangement prohibited by 8 CFR 204.6(e), so the money was not properly invested and is not at risk, at 186 to 188. The full amount of money must be made available to the business or businesses most closely responsible for creating the employment, at 179, which is why fees taken out of the minimum investment do not count. Eligibility is fixed at filing, so a later amendment cannot rescue a deficient petition, at 175 and 189. Separately, at 189 to 190, reserve funds an agreement keeps unavailable for job creation are not at risk. For petitions filed on or after 15 March 2022 the statute permits one repurchase term, a buy back exercisable solely at the discretion of the enterprise which results in the investor withdrawing the petition unless the sustainment period is met.

Governed by Matter of Izummi, 22 I&N Dec. 169, 175, 179 and 186 to 190 (Assoc. Comm. 1998), Interim Decision 3360; 8 CFR 204.6(e); 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(D)(ii)(III)(dd) and (D)(ii)(IV) for the buy back; USCIS Policy Manual, 6 USCIS-PM G.2(A)(2), page current as of 5 August 2026, which cites Izummi at 179 for made available, at 175 to 176 and 189 for material change and at 186 to 188 for redemption, and notes at footnote 25 that Izummi reaches redemption agreements generally rather than only those the investor can trigger.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into matter of izummi rather than mentioning it.

The Early Years of EB-5: 1990s Challenges and Changes

Related terms

Capital at riskThe rule that the investor's required capital must be genuinely exposed to loss, with a real chance of gain, and not shielded by a guaranteed return or by any contractual right to repayment.
Redemption and buy-back optionA redemption or put right is a contract term letting the investor demand that the new commercial enterprise repay or repurchase the investment, and by statute it takes the money out of the definition of capital. A buy back option is the mirror image, exercisable by the enterprise rather than the investor, and it is the one such term the statute allows.
Guaranteed returnA promise that the investor will earn a set return, or will get the principal back, which the EB-5 statute strikes out of the capital that counts, to the extent of the amount guaranteed.
Matter of SofficiMatter of Soffici is the 1998 EB-5 precedent decision, 22 I&N Dec. 158, holding that an investor who lends money to his own new commercial enterprise has not invested capital, that the enterprise's own secured borrowing is not his capital either, and that buying a going concern and changing the decor is not the restructuring the regulation requires.
Material changeA material change is a change in the facts after a petition is filed whose changed circumstances would have a natural tendency to influence, or are predictably capable of affecting, the decision. Because eligibility is fixed at the time of filing, a material change arising before the investor obtains conditional residence makes the petition unapprovable rather than amendable.

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