Eligibility of Funds for Prospective EB-5 Investor

Designed by Congress during 1990, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was brought is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to boost the economy of US. Implemented first as a pilot in 1992, the program supports creation of jobs brought in by active foreign investment. Lately, on Dec 20, 2019, President Donald Trump has signed a law on furthering the Regional Center Program till Sep. 30, 2020.

The employment based fifth preference category the EB -5 visa is also referred to as Immigrant Investor Visa Program, is a safe and secure pathway for overseas based investors to become permanent lawful residents of the United States. Known as “green card holders” it is via these investors that United States will be able to employ 10 American workers.

Here are some of the EB -5 visa requirements for the EB-5 Investor visa program:

• A prospective investor should make an investment in to a new commercial enterprise
• A total amount of an investment in a Targeted Employment Area should be $900,000, while that investment for the EB-5 program in a non-targeted area should be $1,800,000.
• Ability to showcase their potential to arrange for the abovementioned funds, and that these funds are coming from lawful sources.
• The funds should be such that, the prospective EB-5 visa investors will be able to track back the lawful path of their funds, right from when they procured the funds to the time they were put in to the investment project escrow.
• To display proof that these funds come from a lawful source, the prospective EB – 5 investors should present proper documentation stating the same.
• In case it is a real estate investment, EB-5 investors for showcasing proof of funds, must present purchase or sales contracts, mortgage documents, deeds, appraisals, rental income, and bank account statements.
• If the nature of investment is for business ownership, the prospective investors as documentation proof must present their business registration documentation, ownership records, appraisals, accounting, or sales records.
• Simply for investors, documentation such as brokerage statements, retirement account statements, stock certificates, and tax returns can be shown.
• Employment earnings can be presented via W-2s, earnings statements, employment contracts, bank account statements, and records of deposits dating back to a couple of years.
• For gifts, investors can present a gift letter as well as the documentation of the sources of funds from the one who has given the gift.
• Inheritance can be shown via any relevant estate documentation.

Since each investor falls in to a separate category of investment, necessary guidance is required, for which they will need an experienced immigration consultant. Not only will these professionals gather all the significant and required documentation, but also perform the role of a trusted advisor on which relevant sources can prospective EB-5 Investors use for EB-5 investor visa. Since source of funds can come from multiple sources, choosing the correct ones can help investors stay ahead of the game.