Form I-829 is generally filed within the ninety days immediately before the second anniversary of obtaining conditional permanent residence. It must show that the capital was sustained in the enterprise and that the required jobs have been created, or will be created within a reasonable period.
The two-year window is fixed; the project's schedule is not
Conditional residence lasts two years, and the filing window at its end is short and precisely defined, so it belongs in a diary from the day status is granted. The risk in practice is rarely the deadline itself but what the project has managed to achieve by the time it arrives. Construction slips, tenants withdraw, hiring lags, and an enterprise that was going to employ its ten workers in month eighteen may be employing four.
Hélène's exposure is twofold: the capital has to have remained at risk in the enterprise throughout, so she cannot withdraw it to protect herself, and the job evidence has to be produced from records she does not control. Before committing she should ask for the project's hiring schedule, what evidence of employment it will supply and when, and what happens if the timetable slips. Removing conditions is also not the end of the road, since permanent residence and citizenship remain separate questions.