I am a Vietnamese national interested in pursuing the EB-5 Program. If I enter and win the jackpot of the U.S. Mega Millions Lottery or U.S. Power Ball Lottery through the online lottery ticket purchase service, may I use these funds for an EB-5 investment? Can I use these funds immediately for EB-5 or do I need to return the funds to Vietnam before doing so? If these funds do qualify, how should I show the source of funds?
The EB-5 Immigration laws and regulations State you will have to authenticate the lawful source of your investment funds. The source of your personal funds is winning a lawfully run lottery. These winning funds can be placed in your personal account in the U.S. Therefore from your personal account you can then transfer your personal investment funds into the EB-5 project.
Yes, if you win a big lottery like the U.S. Powerball Lottery, you could use those funds as a source of funds for an EB-5 investment. You would not need to return the funds to Vietnam before doing so. Evidence your source of funds by showing your winning number and a great deal of other evidence, including the transfer of funds from the lottery agency to your account or by cash, or an appropriate check.
Yes, you could use this. For documentation, you would show the money coming from the lottery organization along with documentation that you won. (i.e. some document from the lottery corporation showing you won the lottery). You may want to show proof of how many tickets you purchased if it was a low number, just to avoid the question of where the money to purchase the tickets came from. (e.g. some people buy thousands of tickets).
Provided that the Mega Millions/Power Ball allows foreign nationals to purchase tickets and play in these lotteries, you can use these funds for your EB-5 investment. The SOF analysis would be relatively straightforward (or almost nonexistent) because you would just have to show your winning ticket and a brief explanation (unless you purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of lottery tickets).
First of all, good luck with your lottery tickets. The EB-5 regulations require that the invested capital be lawfully obtained. Since the lotteries you mentioned are well-known, legal lotteries, it would appear that any winnings could be used for EB-5 purposes. You would not need to return the funds to your home country. Funds lawfully earned anywhere in the world may be used for EB-5 investments as long as the lawful source and path of funds is clearly documented.
Not all U.S. lotteries are open for non-residents and non-citizens, so you should probably start with checking the rules of the particular lottery. Generally, proceeds from the winning, free of tax obligations, can constitute a qualifying investment. When the award is distributed to the winner, the appropriate documents are issued, and payment of taxes associated with the winning also corroborates the receipt of the award.
The funds will qualify. You need to document the funds you win.
Yes, you can use your lottery winnings for your EB-5 investment. As long as the winnings are well documented, it should not be a problem.
I would start by discussing this with a qualified tax attorney. You may also need to source the funds with which you purchase the winning lottery ticket. And no, the funds do not need to go to Vietnam but there are certain rules you will need to follow regarding where you keep the money in the US.
