How many sources can EB-5 investment funds come from? - EB5Investors.com

How many sources can EB-5 investment funds come from?

I have half of the money for the EB-5 investment. Can I borrow the other half from multiple friends (10 to 20 people) and invest in the EB-5 program for a green card? Or does the money have to come from family members? Will there be a problem since I'm getting the gifts from so many people? Is it up to the givers or me to prove the source of funds?

Answers

Ed Beshara

Ed Beshara

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You can have multiple sources for the EB-5 investment requirement. However, each source and transfer has to be legal and authentic.

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

All sources need to be authenticated. If you use a lot of sources, you are giving the USCIS officer a lot of work, and you create more opportunities for misunderstandings. Try to keep it simple!

Julia Roussinova

Julia Roussinova

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Each donor will have to be able to demonstrate lawful source of funds for gifts to you. In theory, it is possible to use so many donors; however, under proposed legislation, gifts from certain family members only may be allowed if this new rule comes into place. It may be very burdensome to demonstrate the lawful source of funds for so many donors. The loan must be secured by your personnel asset(s) and their value must exceed the loan.

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

There is no limit to the number of sources you may rely upon for your EB-5 investment. You are required, however, to fully document that it is more likely than not that all of the capital was obtained lawfully. Gifts are fine, but the gift giver or givers must document their sources of funds. Therefore, if you have a large number of gifts, you will be stuck with documenting the lawful sources of all your gift givers. This could be complicated, time consuming, and cumbersome. Also, for loans, the loan must be a real loan, with a loan agreement containing all of the terms and conditions of the loan, including repayment schedule, interest rate, and the collateral securing the loan. The loan agreement must be enforceable otherwise USCIS likely will disregard it. You must document that the loan is secured with sufficient collateral and you must document your lawful source of funds to purchase the collateral in the first place.

Echo Meisheng King

Echo Meisheng King

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You must own the funds that you invest in the EB-5 project. It can be a gift from your family members, but it cannot be borrowed from someone. If it is a loan from a bank, it must be secured by the assets that you own. The family member who gifts you the funds will have to prove the source of funds.

John J Downey

John J Downey

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You may receive funds from different sources, but they must prove that the funds were derived from lawful sources.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Because we must track the legal source of funds of every person who gives you a gift of money, getting the money from 10-20 people becomes untenable as we must see all their taxes and bank accounts. Also, USCIS seems to frown on receiving money from merely friends these days and they are leaning towards allowing gifts to fund EB-5 from only immediate/close family members. I think USCIS seems to question the legitimacy of friends' generosity without the EB-5 investor trying to launder money when they cannot legitimately show and track their source of funds.

Ian E Scott

Ian E Scott

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You can borrow money for an EB-5 investment from multiple people, but you have to keep two things in mind: 1. You must show/prove the source of funds for your 10-20 friends 2. The loans must all be secured against your personal property that has a value higher than the loan.

Vaughan de Kirby

Vaughan de Kirby

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Theoretically, there is no specific limit to the number of sources. However, every source must demonstrate through appropriate evidence the legal source of the capital. Any loan must be secured and the source of the funds that were used to purchase the property used as the security must be shown to be from a lawful source.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Under the new proposed legislation, only certain close family members can gift the money to you.

Stephen Berman

Stephen Berman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

It does raise a question of whether 20 people are simply giving you hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts for nothing in return. You must prove the source of the funds.

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