Questions and Answers > EB-5 Requirements

Can I use a gift to get my EB-5 visa?

I was given large gifts from family members that I would like to use for my EB-5 visa. These gifts total more than $500,000 in U.S. dollars that I received from 3 family members. My uncles and parents gave me these funds. Could I use them for funding for my EB-5 visa?

Answers

• Clem Turner

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on January 30, 2013

  So long as your parents and uncles can lawfully prove the source of the funds comprising the gift, this should be acceptable.

• Mahsa Aliaskari

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 23, 2013

  Yes, you may use funds acquired through gifts. In such a case you should be prepared to verify that any required gift taxes have been paid, as well as verify the lawful source of funds from the giftor.

• Ron Klasko

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 21, 2013

  Yes, gifts are very normal on EB-5 cases. In gift cases, we need to prove the lawful source of funds of the person giving the gift.

• Philip H Teplen

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 21, 2013

  Yes you can use gifts for EB-5; however, we must show that the funds were earn lawfully and if a gift tax is required, that it was filed and paid. I will be happy to discuss in more detail.

• Ying Lu

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 21, 2013

  Yes, you can use the gifted funds for EB-5 investment. However, whoever gifted the funds to you will need to provide evidence to prove his/her legal source of funds.

• Lynne Feldman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 21, 2013

  Yes that is fine provided you can document the gifts were lawfully earned funds.

• Kate Kalmykov

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes, gifts are permitted under the EB-5 program. You should speak to an immigration attorney regarding the documentation that you as the investor and the three giftors will have to present to USCIS to satisfy the requirement that the source and trace of the investment funds be documented.

• David Katona

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes, you can use gifted funds, as long as there is no expectation of return of the money (ie, the funds were not a loan). You would still, however, need to show the lawful source of the funds from your family members.

• Bita Hamidi

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes. You may use a gift as your EB-5 source of funds. You must show gift taxes paid, if applicable.

• Igor Serbinin

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes you can as long as you can show USCIS original source of the funds and how they come into your relatives'' possession.

• Richard W Moore, Jr

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes you can, as long as you can demonstrate that your family members lawfully obtained the funds given to you.

• Boyd Campbell

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes, but gifts should be documented and be irrevocable. Also document the sources of the money.

• Steven Anapoell

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes, you can use a gift to get an EB-5 visa.

• Julia Roussinova

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes, gifted funds may be used for EB-5 investment. Donors (family members who have made gifts to you) would still need to provide documentation showing their funds come from lawful sources, such as income, inheritance, sale of real or other property, etc. Documentation regarding gift transactions should be prepared based on the applicable law of your country and a statement from a tax professional as to whether the gift tax regime applies or does not apply in your country to ensure that any required gift taxes are paid or are not required to be paid.

• Farah Abbas

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 17, 2013

  Yes, you may use gift proceeds towards making your EB-5 investment. Given your situation, you would have to fully document the source of the funds given to you by your parents and your uncles. Please seek the advice of an experienced immigration attorney in documenting the source of the funds from each person.

• Marisa Casablanca

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes. You can use gifts. We have processed several cases using funds that the investor received as a gift. It is important that your attorney handle your case specific to the facts of your case. You should explain this to the attorney and he/she will give you the list of documents and explain the procedure to be able to use the gifted funds.

• Alexander Lebedinski

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  You should be able to use the gifts to fund the EB-5 investment. There is very limited case law on this subject and the regulations do not specifically allow or prohibit it. You will need to document that the giftors obtained the funds through lawful means, show a full chain from when the funds were earned by each of the giftors to when they ended up in your account, provide sworn affidavits from each of the giftors confirming the gifts, and include a currency conversion calculation.

• Kirk A Carter

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, funds utilized to make an investment qualifying for EB-5 status may be obtained through a gift, so long as the gift is documented and the source of the funds can be traced. It is necessary to demonstrate that the person who made the gift obtained the funds legally and that there is no expectation of repayment of the gift, i.e. that it is not a loan.

• Jinhee Wilde

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, you could use the gift to make the EB-5 investment documented by gift letters from all 3 donors. In addition to the gift letters, we will need show how your parents and uncles have obtained the funds to give to you by showing their tax and bank records. The question that USCIS inevitably asks is whether the funds are laundered from illegal source if a 3rd party has given the money to the EB-5 investor. Thus, we need to carefully construct how the money was transferred at each stage from each account.

• Taher Kameli

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes. You can use the gift. But, the US government may ask the source of the gifts and how the person who gave you the gift obtained his money.

• Angeline Chen

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, you can!

• Anthony Ravani

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, absolutely. Many people do this.

• Alice H Sun

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, we did many successful EB5 applications that used a gift to invest.

• Stephen Berman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, as long as you own this money.

• Sufen Hilf

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes. Your family members just need to prove that these funds are from legal sources.

• Ed Beshara

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes under the following circumstances. The source of funds gifted from each of the relatives has to come from legal and authenticated sources. In addition, you still have to be a qualified investor Either by having a certain annual income (by yourself or combined with your spouse), or having a certain net worth.

• Baoqin Wang

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes. You still need to provide documentary evidence that the gifted money are from lawful sources.

• Larry J Behar, Esq

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  The receipt of a gift for EB 5 funding is permissible by law so long as the source of funds and the documentation leading to the funding is available. Further, evidence of the relationship will be required.

• Lana Kurilova-Rich

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, you can certainly use the money gifted to you, but your family members will likely have to show source of these funds they gifted you. In other words, your family members will have to conclusively prove to the U.S. government that the money they gave you came from legitimate sources, such as their income, sale of property, etc.

• Mark Urbanski

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes. So long as they are gifts (as opposed to loans), and any applicable gift taxes have been paid, then you are allowed to use these funds for an EB-5 investment.

• Neville M Leslie

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes as long as you have proof of funds.

• Mona Shah

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, this is an acceptable source of investment funds for EB5.

• Rakesh Mehrotra

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes you can use gifts for EB 5 as long as they are properly documented and the money can be legally traced to the giftors for a few years.

• Elizabeth McKee

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes. You can use gifts to make your investment. But we will still need to show how your family members obtained the funds. Like through their own jobs, investments, etc., so that USCIS understands that the investment funds came from a legal source. We have experience in this kind of application and we would be happy to help. Please feel free to contact me with questions.

• Darren Silver

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, you may use a gift. The source of funds will still need to be properly traced and documented.

• Reza Rahbaran

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 16, 2013

  Yes, you are allowed to use gifted funds.