+1-800-997-1228
Questions and Answers > EB-5 Investments

How should EB-5 funds be gifted to avoid source of fund issues?

I am seeking an EB-5 visa by investing in a regional center at the $500,000 amount. All of the funds will be gifted to me from my parents, and are from employment earnings in CAD that were converted to USD. What is the best way for me to receive this gift so that I do not have problems later with source of funds proof on my EB-5 application? For example, would an ordinary personal check in my name work?

Answers

  • Avatar

    Ed Beshara

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The parents may gift funds to their child, and the parents have to show their source of gifted funds came from lawful sources and the transfer to the child was lawful.

  • Avatar

    Xiaosheng Huang

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are a lot of documents that need to be provided and it shall be proved how your parents earned the money so that they are able to gift it to you.

  • Avatar

    Charles H Kuck

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    You can never avoid the source of funds issue. If money is gifted to you, then the person gifting you the money will have to show the source of their funds. Nice try though!

  • Avatar

    Julia Roussinova

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    You will need to document a gift as well as the lawful source of funds for your parents prior to the gift of funds to you. Funds must also be traced from your parents' accounts to your account and then to a regional center project's escrow account. It is highly recommended that you engage the legal services of an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney.

  • Avatar

    Salvatore Picataggio

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    You will need documentation to prove the gift is indeed a true gift, and not a loan or something like that.

  • Avatar

    Charles Foster

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    A personal check or wire transfer from your parents to your personally owned bank account, along with a gift declaration, would be a good start. You or your attorney would also want to dig deeper in terms of gathering evidence that explains the source of the gifted funds.

  • Avatar

    John J Downey

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The funds must be transferred to you personally. Then your parents will have to provide the paper trail of how they obtained the funds.

  • Avatar

    Bernard P Wolfsdorf

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    An ordinary check to you would be part of it, but the source of funds must be detailed in terms of also documenting your parents' lawful earning of the gifted funds.

  • Avatar

    Rebecca Singh

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The gift may be given to you from your parents by check or wiring of the funds to your personal account. You must trace the funds from your parents' account to your account. The funds must be in an account with your name prior to the transfer of funds to the project. In addition, a gift agreement is needed, signed by you and your parents. Further, your parents will need to source their funds.

  • Avatar

    Ian E Scott

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    A personal check with the note "gift" would be fine, or a wire. You will also need a gift letter from your parents and the bank statements showing the transfers. Please make sure they transfer the money to your personal account rather than to a regional center. Finally, you will have to show where they obtained the funds from (e.g. tax returns if from savings).

  • Avatar

    Lynne Feldman

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    I would document the gift from your parents to you. Have a business attorney draw this up. You will also need to show where your parents earned their money to show it was lawfully earned.

  • Avatar

    Margo Chernysheva

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The best is to hire an experienced immigration attorney to assist in your case. Also, it is important that you have an attorney licensed in the jurisdiction where the gift is being given to make sure the gift documents are drafted according to the local rules. And note that since it will be a gift, the source of funds of your parents would have to be clearly shown. A personal check in your name with a gift deed properly structured under the local rules with all proper tax liabilities declared and paid (if any) would also need to be done. Hope this helps.

  • Avatar

    Jinhee Wilde

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Tracking source of funds is a quite detailed and arduous process. Getting the gift from your parents will be simple enough, but you need to track their income earnings to account(s) before and after they were converted to USD, then to you, and then finally to the regional center investment. You should work with an experienced EB-5 attorney to prepare and document the source of funds tracking for I-526 filing.

  • Avatar

    Peter Zhang

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    You parents should document their source of funds before transferring the money. The money then should be transferred to your checking account and then wired to the project escrow. This way, USCIS would be less likely to raise any issues on possession of the investment funds.

  • Avatar

    Raymond Lahoud

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The method of transfer would not necessarily be relevant. Even if the funds are gifted, you will still have to source the funds back to show that they were lawfully obtained.

  • Avatar

    Stephen Berman

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    A personal check should work fine.

  • Avatar

    Vaughan de Kirby

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Your investment immigration attorney will prepare an affidavit of gift for your parents to sign. He or she will then work with your parents to document the source of the funds that your parents use to make the gift to you. I recommend that before any funds are transferred, you consult with your attorney to see that all documentation is in place and properly planned.