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BEAUMONT · EB-5 FIELD GUIDE

Does adding my spouse to a private exit agreement determine their EB-5 derivative status?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. A private financial agreement does not establish a person’s immigration eligibility or status.

Keep financial rights and family eligibility distinct

An eligible spouse and unmarried children under 21 may seek derivative status subject to the actual case and applicable age protections. Identify the real principal investment and each relative’s role. An exit right, joint bank account or distribution notice does not grant residence, work authorization or a universal protection against aging out.

Birth certificates showing place of birth for every family member, current passports, marriage and any divorce records, and evidence of prior immigration filings that might already carry a priority date. As conditional residents they may work for any employer, so the spouse can manage the hauling company's office or drive, but the statute excludes the investor's spouse and children from the count of qualifying employees, so their positions add nothing to the ten. Tuition instalments, a lease renewal and a child's approaching twenty-first birthday fall on fixed days that no project schedule will move, and the derivative rules include fact-specific age protection that turns on the case's own dates.