How can I use funds earned via trading for my EB-5 investment?

If you can show you were not employed as a day trader this can work, but need to show it was only incidental.

In brief, the USCIS will accept virtually any lawfully obtained funds as EB-5 capital—including profits from stock, crypto, options, futures and foreign exchange trading. The key EB-5 requirement is not the type of income, but your ability to prove lawful source and path of funds. That means your EB-5 petition must document bank/brokerage statements showing your deposits, withdrawals, and trades as well as proof of the original funds used to trade (however such funds were derived, be it from salary, savings, etc.). Generally, the USCIS requires you also provide your last seven (7) years of federal or foreign tax returns and as and if required, these returns should report on any trading income. Additionally, you will need to have a clear money trail from your brokerage account to your bank account (I recommend opening a new account for this purpose) and then to the Escrow Account for the EB-5 project. As long as the income is legal, taxed, and traceable, trading profits are generally acceptable.
You’re correct that there is confusing information online. Fortunately, the rule is relatively clear: passive trading on your own behalf is allowed. I haven’t seen individuals be found to have violated their H-1B visa status for passive trading, however, caution should be considered given the changes in USCIS and Department of State policy that we’ve seen recently. Passive trading could include buying/selling stocks for yourself, maintaining brokerage or crypto accounts, investing in real estate and earning dividends, interest, or capital gains
What you cannot do is operate an active trading business or anything resembling self-employment. I presume that any such activity is truly limited and can be construed as passive personal investment rather than being a day trader. Being a day trader would be a violation of your H-1B visa status,
Using trading profits for a home down payment and then use a HELOC for EB-5 capital is also acceptable in the context of making an EB5 investment as long as its fully traceable/documented, meaning that you should be expected to have all this evidence available or otherwise full any gaps by completing a notarized affidavit.
A follow up question may be what will not work in the context of an EB5 case filing. For example, unreported trading profits would be considered as not coming from lawful sources, as failure to report and file could be construed as tax evasion, which is a crime of moral turpitude. Additionally, funds mixed in untraceable accounts with no history would be a serious concern for an attorney representing you, as would a HELOC borrowed against a property you don’t own or funds from active day-trading business operations on H-1B (if it appears you are “working” outside H-1B authorization), which again could be construed as being unlawful.

The short answer is yes to both. H1B permits personal investment and heavy investment is not a concern with 10-15 minutes daily. You can buy a home and then use HELOC to fund EB-5 project. Of course both sources of income must be very well documented.

I think this could work – we would be happy to review the details when you are ready to move forward.

Trading your own personal investment account is generally not considered “employment” under immigration law. Unauthorized employment requires providing services or labor to another party for compensation. Simply buying and selling securities with your own funds, even if done frequently, does not fall into that category, so long as you are not managing anyone else’s money or being compensated for providing trading services.
Regarding EB-5 source of funds, profits from your own trading activity are generally acceptable if properly documented as lawfully earned. Using those profits as a down payment on a home and then obtaining a HELOC secured by that home can also be a permissible EB-5 funding structure, provided you are personally liable for the loan and can document the path of funds.