Who counts as an employee of the commercial enterprise for purposes of satisfying the conditional green card requirements?

A: To qualify for green card status (without conditions), an investment must create full-time employment for at least 10 U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or other immigrants lawfully authorized to be employed in the United States. Note that an immigrant lawfully authorized to be employed in the U.S. does not include H-1B workers as they are non-immigrants. Additionally, INA §203(b)(5)(A)(ii) (8 USC §1153(b)(5)(A)(ii)).neither the investor nor the investor's spouse or children count toward the 10 employee figure.

Regulatory language in this area provides that such jobs need not exist at the time of the initial investment or before the filing of the first part of the petition, form I-526, however USCIS does require that such employees be hired within a reasonable period after issuance of the conditional green card and must definitely be evidenced when applying for removal of conditions within 24 months.