Well before any capital moves. The source-of-funds record and the employment design both take time, and both are far harder to correct once money has been transferred and a business has been structured around a plan that does not fit the requirements.
The order of operations matters more than the calendar
A workable sequence begins with the source-of-funds reconstruction, because it is the step most likely to reveal an unfixable gap and it depends on records held by banks, land registries and accountants who respond slowly. The employment design comes next, since it determines the scale of the venture. Only then do premises, equipment and transfers follow. Reversing that order is how families end up with a running business and an unprovable capital history. Processing times for the relevant petitions vary and should be checked against current official information rather than assumed. Throughout, a licensed U.S. immigration attorney should be reviewing the plan, because the consequences of a structural mistake here are financial as well as procedural.
Build the schedule from proof dependencies: trace funds, settle the investment documents, model job creation, and preserve records from the first transfer onward. A rushed launch can make later proof of capital risk or qualifying employment difficult even when the business is genuine. The process includes conditional permanent residence, so the filing timeline continues after the initial petition. Hypothetical example: A biodegradable-film plant plans staggered hiring over several years. The investor should decide whether the hiring dates and records will support the job requirement before funds are committed to long-lead machinery.