Can I sublease employees from another company?

Generally, no: subleasing employees from another company typically does not count as direct job creation under the EB-5 program. The program requires that the funded enterprise generate jobs for workers in the United States, and the way those positions are created matters as much as the number of them.

When workers are formally employed by a separate company and merely provide services to your business through a contract, they tend not to be attributed to your project for counting purposes. As a rule, the positions that count are those created and maintained directly by the enterprise that received the investment.

That said, each case has nuances. Contractual details, the project’s operational structure, and the current guidance from USCIS can all influence how a position is evaluated, so generalizations must be confirmed on a case-by-case basis.

• Third-party employees engaged through a contract typically do not count as direct hires.
• The positions that count are those created and maintained by the funded enterprise itself.
• The nature of the employment relationship weighs in the analysis, not just the headcount.

Before structuring your workforce around third-party labor, it is worth confirming how those positions will be evaluated with USCIS and with the support of an immigration and investment specialist.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.