The EB-5 program requires that each EB-5 Investor create ten (10) jobs. Job cushion refers to the percentage of jobs exceeding the requirement. Having a Job cushion is important so that the job creation estimates are above the minimum required by all investors in a project.

So, what is a sufficient job cushion? Is there a magic number that is acceptable and anything lower than that is rejected? Generally speaking, a higher job cushion provides some assurance that job creation estimates will be met — but EB5 investors need to look deeper than just the job cushion numbers.

Job Cushions from 155 EB-5 offerings

Based on our review of 155 EB-5 offerings, job cushion has ranged from 0% to 900%. Seventy five percent (75%) of the projects have a job cushion of 25% or more and thirty percent (30%) of the projects have a job cushion of 100% or more. The median job cushion is 51%.