How can I repurpose my Canadian investment toward an EB-5 investment?

Investment funds that belong to you can be used to invest for EB-5 purposes as long as you can liquidate the funds from the investment funds and be able to put the funds in the U.S. commercial enterprise for the EB-5 processing. You will also need to show lawful source of funds so will need to provide your ownership/share documentation, etc.

Part of the process to obtain an EB-5 green card is showing the tracing of your source of funds. You would have to show how you obtained those funds and then you can transfer the funds to a project.

You will need to withdraw the funds at the right time and send them to the regional center in which you are investing. There will probably be some tax consequences in Canada when you withdraw the funds. You should check with a Canadian accountant or tax lawyer about that issue.

You can withdraw any of the funds for eventual EB-5 investments. Advisably, consult Canadian RRSP to ensure that Canadian laws are strictly observed to avoid any violation of the law.

You certainly can if you are able to show your initial contributions to RRSPs were from lawful source of funds (such as earnings), provide records showing that the funds appreciated in value over the years, liquidate funds to produce EB-5 capital for investment, convert funds to U.S. dollars, and invest in a USCIS-approved regional center project with an excellent track record. Engage the services of an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney to help you competently prepare your case for submission to USCIS.

Regardless of the source of funds, you have to make a minimum investment of at least $500,000 if the enterprise is located in a targeted employment area (TEA). If you are able to monetize your three separate Canadian registered retirement savings plan accounts, same may constitute a lawful source of funds although you may be required to establish source of funds for your initial RRSP investment. But in any event, such funds would have to be liquidated in order to make the minimum EB-5 investment.

Can you prove your ongoing contributions, prove the savings equal at least $500,000, take an early distribution, covert that to U.S. dollars, and invest in the project? The devil is in the details, as they say, but that sounds like a start.

First, select the regional center, review their investment documents and then once you select one, the regional center will send you the necessary documents. We would review those if we were your counsel. These documents include the investment of funds procedures. We will need to show the lawful source of funds (where did they come from before they entered your savings accounts) as part of the I-526 filing and will guide you through this.

If you can show those funds were lawfully earned, which they clearly were, then the next step is to locate a viable project, which will lead to success on the green card and also ensure the money is returned to you after five to six years.

The question for you is whether you can withdraw cash from the account and transfer it to an EB-5 project investment. Working with an experience and registered Canadian chartered accountant and financial adviser would benefit you greatly, and having an immigration lawyer who has access to one is even better. An experienced financial planner will guide you on whether you have a tax event in the transferring of funds from your RRSP.

You would need to liquidate $500,000 from these accounts.

If the funds could be legally withdrawn from those funds without negatively impacting your status in Canada, you may use that for EB-5. However, you will need to show how you gathered those funds to invest in those funds, as USCIS requires the showing of the original source of the EB-5 funds.