What restrictions are there on administrative costs and ancillary fees associated with the EB-5 visa?

Even though under current law it is not required to prove lawful source of funds for the regional center project subscription or syndication fee, we have seen USCIS inquire into that. Thus, the best practice is to demonstrate the lawful source of funds for the subscription or syndication fee, as well.

Being able to pay your administrative and legal fees from the account in India would depend on the other parties involved, and if those parties have an appropriate account to which such funds could be transferred.

For EB-5 purposes, any administrative fees/costs cannot count toward the minimum, required capital investment of $500,000 (amount if the project is in targeted employment area). If your home country has restrictions on money transfer per FY, then as far as EB-5 regulations are concerned there are no restrictions on paying the administrative cost to an account in India, as long as the parties are in agreement for such payment.

One must always seek to comply with local and U.S. currency laws. Many programs have flexibility to accommodate admin and legal fees. However, we have seen trends where USCIS does want to see admin fees adequately sourced.

It is advisable to demonstrate the lawful source and path of funds of both the EB-5 investment capital and administrative fees, even though the current regulations/law governing EB-5 do not require it. Proposed changes to the EB-5 law would require that an investor provides the lawful source of funds for the admin costs/fees.