The EB-5 exclusion for the investor’s children is not limited to children included as derivatives. Their job should not be counted toward the required qualifying employment merely because they have separate work permission or live independently. An eligible spouse and unmarried children under 21 may seek derivative residence; family eligibility and job-count eligibility are different questions.
Review the remaining staffing plan
Identify ten qualifying jobs without relying on excluded family positions. Do not extend that exclusion automatically to every other relative; apply the actual worker rules. Separately assess whether an eligible spouse or child will seek derivative residence and any relevant age-protection issues.
First review identifies each derivative's relationship, age, marital status, and intended timing against the principal's process. The records that settle those questions are civil documents and the actual filing dates, not a household summary. Sequence family analysis early, before an investment decision relies on every child being included.
Trouble results when a child close to twenty-one is assumed eligible without applying the relevant rules to the facts. Hypothetical example: An EB-5 investor who owns a Canadian stage-lighting business has a twenty-year-old unmarried daughter planning to marry next year. The family should obtain her birth record and map dates with qualified advice before treating her inclusion as certain.
Record marriage plans clearly.