I am raising Venture Capital (VC) for my tech startup from VC companies that are based in the United States. I would like to apply for the EB-5 visa with a $1 million investment. Is it mandatory that the $1 million investment come from a foreign business or individual from a foreign country to fulfill the visa requirement?
The foreign investor must use PERSONAL funds to make the investment (savings, loaned funds secured by personal assets, gifts, etc.).
Yes, to qualify for the EB-5 visa the investor would have to be a foreign national. However, your tech startup can combine EB-5 funds with non-EB-5 funds to maximize your job creation (and capital).
The EB-5 investor must be the one with the funds at risk. In order for you to qualify for the EB-5 immigrant investor visa, the requisite capital that is invested in the new commercial enterprise (either $1 million or $500,000 if in a TEA) must be your funds, not the investor's.
Normally the funds must come from the foreign investor's own funds and you must show a lawful source of funds. Under certain limited circumstances those funds can be a gift or a secured loan, although these latter provisions may be significantly restricted in the future. It is not likely that the funds you raised as a venture capitalist would count as your funds as they would belong to third parties.
As an EB-5 investor, you must possess the EB-5 investment funds (not the new commercial enterprise) and prove lawful source of funds.
The fund for an EB-5 can come from anywhere. As far as funding for EB-5 is concerned, the only thing that matters is that the fund be from legal source(s).
Yes, the funds must come from you or be secured by assets other than the project in which you are investing.
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