My brother is a U.S. citizen and he is willing to gift me the minimum investment amount for an EB-5 visa. I have been looking at franchise opportunities and one said I would need a U.S. citizen on as a partner with 60% ownership in the business. My question is would USCIS agree to my brother being a 60% partner in the business and also be the one gifting me the funds?
Answers
Linda Liang
Schedule a Free Consultation with Top EB5 Visa AttorneysAnyone can gift you but the gift must be from a legal source. As long as your brother is willing to provide proof of funds and your attorney is able to trace the fund to a legal source, yes, your brother can gift you even though he is a 60% partner.
Phuong Le
Schedule a Free Consultation with Top EB5 Visa AttorneysIt’s absolutely fine for your brother to be an owner/partner of the U.S. business (or the LP/LLC). For the gift, he’d have to prove that he earned it lawfully and it complied with tax laws, but that should be doable if structured correctly.
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Schedule a Free Consultation with Top EB5 Visa AttorneysYes, he can legitimately gift the funds to you. Be careful as you need to have 10 full-time employees and that will cost millions in wages. You must have these employees by the time you file the I-829 removal of conditions, if not earlier.
Belma Demirovic Chinchoy
Schedule a Free Consultation with Top EB5 Visa AttorneysThe law does not prevent this arrangement, but you should discuss the pros and cons with your attorney.
Dale Schwartz
Schedule a Free Consultation with Top EB5 Visa AttorneysYes, that’s ok. I have done that before.
F Oliver Yang
Schedule a Free Consultation with Top EB5 Visa AttorneysThere is no law that’s against it, but I think there are risks. USCIS can question whether your investment is a bona fide “investment” if they suspect that the transaction is not an arm’s-length transaction.
Lynne Feldman
Schedule a Free Consultation with Top EB5 Visa AttorneysThat should work since he doesn’t need EB-5 as well and provided the gift is not secured by the business as a loan.
Stephen Berman
Schedule a Free Consultation with Top EB5 Visa AttorneysIn my opinion, it would not be likely to work. Because he is not actually giving you any money at all; it''s all on papers.
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