Questions and Answers > EB-5 Requirements

Can I use gifted money from my maternal uncle for EB5?

My real maternal uncle has sold his business in the U.S.A. and he wants to gift me money for EB5. Can I use gifted money from him? Or it is necessary to transfer some funds from my home country (India)? I am 25 years old and unmarried. What will my chances for getting an EB5 approved be?

Answers

• Clem Turner

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on March 26, 2013

  So long as the source of Funds is clean, you can use gifted money for an EB-5 investment. One issue I would flag for you that you might not realize is that Regional Centers typically rely on the Regulation S exemption from registration, under the Securities Laws. This requires that no directed sales efforts occur in the United States and that sales are only made to non-US Persons. While the path to the money should be able to flow from the US, you should be careful not to be deemed a US person. If you are deemed a US person, the Regional Center could rely on Regulation D to maintain their exemption. However, until the JOBS Act rules are implemented by the SEC, you would need to be an "accredited investor" in order to that exemption to apply.

• Lei Jiang

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 22, 2013

  Yes, you can. It is not necessary to transfer the fund to India but you need good documentation to show the gift. Best.

• Steven Anapoell

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on March 20, 2013

  Yes, you may use gifted money.

• Roberto Ortiz

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 20, 2013

  Your uncle can gift you the money so that you can invest in an EB-5 project. However, your uncle will have to show his source of funds to demonstrate to USCIS that the funds came from a legal source. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you.

• Mahsa Aliaskari

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 20, 2013

  Yes you may use funds obtained as a gift. You will need to document the lawful source of the funds, meaning you will need to submit documentation verifying the lawful source of your uncle?s funds. You will also need to pay any required gift taxes.

• Fredrick W Voigtmann

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  Yes; you can used gifted money. You will need a gift letter from your uncle and he will need to prepare his lawful source of funds documentation as if he were the investor. The money does not have to come from your home country. The money must come from a lawful source and that source must be thoroughly documented, as well as the path of the funds from the buyer of the business to your uncle to you to the EB-5 new commercial enterprise. If you can document all of this, your chances of approval will be good.

• Jeffrey E Campion

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  The simple answer is "yes" you can use gifted money. You will need to prove the lawful source of your uncle''s money and perhaps show that there''s no gift tax due or it''s been paid.

• Reza Rahbaran

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  Yes, the EB-5 regulations allow for investors to use gifted funds for their EB-5 investment capital.

• Marisa Casablanca

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  In our practice it is quite common that the investor receive the funds as a gift from a relative. We are very experienced in this arena of EB5 investments. Your attorney will help you strategize this investment. We are available to assist if necessary.

• Philip H Teplen

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  You can certainly use gifted money for an EB-5. I will be glad to be of help.

• Daniel A Zeft

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  Yes, funds obtained from a gift can become an EB-5 investment.

• Ying Lu

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  Yes, you can use gifted money as the source of your EB-5 investment as long as your uncle can reasonably explain how he acquired the money.

• Boyd Campbell

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  You may use a gift from your uncle for EB-5 investment purposes. Consult a lawyer who can create a document to be signed by your uncle memorializing the gift. The gift should be irrevocable.

• Rebecca White

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  You may use gifted money, but need to show the money is truly yours and not a loan. The EB5 approval rates will depend upon what you decide to do in terms of moving forward. I am not clear if you are considering an enterprise related to the business your uncle has recently sold or not.

• Shahzad Q Qadri

  RC Creator

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  Yes you may provided that the money can be sourced you should be good.

• Ali Brodie

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2013

  You may use gifted funds however you must show the lawful source of the funds. Therefore, you must be able to trace the original source of funds, show that funds were gifted, and that any requisite taxes on the funds were paid.

• Julia Roussinova

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2013

  Yes, you may use the funds gifted from your maternal uncle in the US for your EB-5 investment capital. Your uncle will need to demonstrate the lawful source of funds, i.e. the documentation establishing the funds have been generated from the sale of his US business. Additionally, the gift must be properly documented. You are not required to transfer funds from India. Gifted funds should be gifted from your uncle to your personal bank account in the US. Your uncle may or may not be required to pay the US federal gift tax. A US federal gift tax return will generally be required to be filed even if there is no US federal gift tax payable. Your uncle should consult a licensed CPA or a tax attorney in the US to discuss his specific federal gift tax situation. We are qualified to provide US federal tax advice. Do not hesitate to contact our office with any further EB-5 questions you may have.

• Andy Semotiuk

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2013

  Yes.

• Stephen Berman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2013

  Yes, he can gift it to you. Your age and marital status and not factors, as long as you invest the money.

• Christina Corbaci

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2013

  You can certainly use gift money for an EB-5 investment. However, you must document the source of the gift funds. In this case, you would have to document how your maternal uncle obtained the money. You would also have to track the transfer from your uncle to you, and then you to the EB-5 business. If the money is already here in the U.S., then I suppose you would just have your Uncle transfer the money to a U.S. bank account in your name. You would also have to show that your uncle has complied with any applicable gift taxes. In order to tell you your chances for getting an EB-5 approved I would have to know a lot more information. Your age and marital status are not really relevant. The more important things to consider are the source of the funds and the type of project you are investing in, such as the ability of the project to demonstrate it will create 10 jobs in the next two years. If you have further questions, don''t hesitate to contact me at the below contact info.

• Ed Beshara

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2013

  An EB-5 investor an use gifted funds as personal investment funds. In this case, the Uncle will have to authenticate his lawful source of funds for the gifted amount.

• Neville M Leslie

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2013

  Yes, you will have good chances of approval.

• Jinhee Wilde

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2013

  Gift from a family member is used quite often for EB-5 investment. As long as we could track the legitimacy of your uncle''s money through business tax returns and sale of the business documents, we could work with that. There is no particular reason to transfer the money to India first. Your age of 25 is not too extraordinary for EB-5 investment either. We have done many applications for young people who has received funds from parents for EB-5.