Once they hold conditional permanent residence they may work anywhere, including the restaurant, but their positions do not count toward the ten jobs. The investor's spouse and children are excluded from the job count even when they are employees.
Family may work; family does not count
EB-5 derivatives—the investor's spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one—receive conditional permanent residence alongside the investor and are then free to work for any employer, including the restaurant. Nothing prevents the husband from managing the bar or the daughter from serving tables. What the rule excludes is counting them: the definition of a qualifying employee expressly leaves out the investor and the investor's spouse, sons and daughters.
A Harrison Hot Springs restaurateur who plans an operation with ten positions, two of which the family will fill, has planned eight qualifying jobs. Two further points affect the family. A daughter's age is assessed under the Child Status Protection Act, which freezes her age during the petition's pendency but requires a visa to be available before she turns twenty-one as calculated; marriage ends her eligibility.
And the family's conditional residence is removed together with the investor's, so the I-829 evidence of sustained investment and job creation protects all of them. A family review should separate immigration eligibility from project documents. It should list each proposed derivative, relationship evidence, date-of-birth evidence, passport validity, and any age-sensitive issue that needs analysis against the petition and visa-availability timeline.
The controlling records are civil certificates, the investor petition receipt, and the applicable visa information, not an informal family plan. Hypothetical example: A Canadian recycling-facility investor has a daughter nearing the derivative age limit while the project is still raising capital. The family should assess timing before filing, because later project progress cannot automatically preserve a child's derivative route.