How can minors submit an EB-5 application?

There is a specific set of documents to be executed on behalf of minor investors. May depend on which state the investment is made.

This method of petition has been somehow uncommon. It is acceptable but it requires meticulous guidance from an EB-5 attorney. Thus, before embarking on the plan consult an EB-5 attorney.

It may be possible to qualify a minor under UTMA, depending on the state jurisdiction where the EB-5 investment contract will be executed. I suggest you also check with a particular regional center project if it will accept a minor under age 14. Hire an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney and an estate planning attorney in your local state jurisdiction to go through the process.

Since a minor cannot legally enter into a binding agreement/contract (i.e., for investment agreements, conducting business, etc.) having a 10-year-old as the EB-5 investor would not be feasible. However, in cases like this, the parent can process for the EB-5 immigrant investor and have the child can be processed along with the parent for the green card processing as the derivative beneficiary/dependent.

I do not think the USCIS would allow a child that young to be an EB-5 recipient. She is supposed to take part in the business (even if in a small way), and how could he/she do that? A better plan is for the parent to apply for the EB-5 and then the child would get a green card at the same time as the parent.

It has become quite common for parents to gift the money to their children. The first step is to make sure that the child is qualified to be an investor. That requires researching the trust and estate, as well as contract laws where the contract will be signed.

USCIS has not given clear guidance, but takes the position the investment must be irrevocably committed, so the minor&#39s investment contract must be valid. We have filed and got approvals for several minors using UTMA, the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act. Since there is a long waiting line, we believe it is possible to structure cases that would be approvable even for a 10-year-old child.

Check with the project you want to invest in. Most will accept minors, provided they subscribe under a legal/procedural mechanism that satisfies both USCIS and securities laws such as the UTMA. Note that most will not accept investors under 14, though, so 10 years old might be too young. Check with them first.

It depends on the right of a minor to enter into contracts in the state where the project is from. Generally, minors are not going to be able to be the investor.

I do not know if it can be done, and it seems unlikely one could do this.