Should EB-5 money be transferred in the United States or a foreign country? - EB5Investors.com

Should EB-5 money be transferred in the United States or a foreign country?

If my daughter is in the United States and I want to give half a million dollars to her, should I transfer the money in the United States or have her come back to her country and give her the money there? Would it be easier for my daughter to apply for EB-5 if the money was already in the United States with her?

Answers

Reza Rahbaran

Reza Rahbaran

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You may gift the funds to your daughter. You must prove the lawful source of the funds gifted. You may then transfer the funds to your daughter. It is not necessary for your daughter to go back to her home country.

Shahzad Q Qadri

Shahzad Q Qadri

RC Creators
Answered on

Transferring to the United States is acceptable, as long as we can trace the source, you are good to go. It is generally easier to adjust status provided they are in the United States on a valid visa.

Roberto Ortiz

Roberto Ortiz

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The first thing that you will need to do is formally gift the money to your daughter. The money can be here in the US or in your home country. The most important thing is that you are able to demonstrate where the money came from. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You need to document your lawful source of funds, then you can gift the money to her in the US, and she can make the EB-5 investment. Caution if there are gift tax issues in your home country.

Jeffrey E Campion

Jeffrey E Campion

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

From an immigration standpoint, there should be no issues. But, consult tax advisers to make sure you do not accidentally create a tax consequence from the gift.

Philip H Teplen

Philip H Teplen

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

It does not matter if the money is already here or coming from home. However, you need to be aware of gift tax reporting (if any) as such will be asked by immigration.

Minjie Xu

Minjie Xu

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

From an immigration perspective, either way works and makes no difference. However, it is not recommended that the gift-giver directly wire the funds to the EB-5 new commercial enterprise on behalf of the giftee. It looks clearer if the gift-giver first transfers the money to the giftee, who then transfer the money to the EB-5 bank account.

Ying Lu

Ying Lu

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Your daughter does not need to get back to her home country as long as your country's law does not require that the gift must be made in person. Also, if your country does not have the foreign currency control, you can wire all the gifted funds directly from your country to the U.S.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

If your daughter was given the full investment amount, you do not have to go through it again by having her come home and then giving it again. If she already has the money in United States, making EB-5 investment would be much easier and faster.

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Either way, the money has to end up in the U.S. new commercial enterprise account (which itself may be an escrow account). Depending on the country from where you are transferring the funds, it may be easier to send to money to her personal account in the United States first. From our experience, this method is very common and has been accepted by USCIS.

Jenny Shen

Jenny Shen

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

To answer your first question, assuming your daughter is the applicant of the EB-5 visa, and you will be the donor of the funds for her investment in the U.S. commercial enterprise, you may transfer the money within the United States or from a foreign country to her. Whether you are transferring the funds within the United States or from a foreign country, you must be able to provide clear proof of such transfer(s). Please note that one of the primary requirements under EB-5 law is that the investor must prove lawful source of funds. If the funds of your daughter''s investment is a gift or other form of contribution from you, then she/you will have the burden to prove the lawful source your funds. For the second question, as mentioned above, whether or not the money is in the United States, you and your daughter will still need to prove the lawful source if the initial source of funds are not from the United States. Hope that helps. You are welcome to contact my office if you need further information on the lawful source of funds or have other EB-5 related inquiries. Best of luck!

Daniel B Lundy

Daniel B Lundy

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

For immigration purposes, the issue is whether it is her money, not where it was given to her. She will need to trace it from wherever she got it to the investment. However, there could be a big tax issue here, and you should consult with an accountant familiar with U.S. tax law, and the tax law of your home country.

Lynne Feldman

Lynne Feldman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You may either transfer the money directly to the project in her name or to her account in the U.S. and then she can invest.

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

It does not matter in which country you lawfully earned the money or from which country it is transferred or gifted to the investor. What matters is that you fully document how the capital was lawfully obtained and document the complete path and flow of the funds.

Jin Lee

Jin Lee

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

It does not matter which country the EB-5 money come from as long as it can be proved that the investor is the legitimate owner of the fund. In your case, if you have money in the United States already, you can give it to your daughter as a gift so that she can invest it for her EB-5. Please kindly give me a call or email to discuss further.

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