One of the most important requirements in the EB-5 process is proving that your investment funds come from a lawful source. A common question among potential investors is whether earnings from employment abroad can be used toward an EB-5 investment. The short answer is yes. Foreign salary income is a permissible source of EB-5 funds, so long as it can be clearly documented and traced.
Proving Legality of Foreign Income
USCIS regulations do not limit lawful earnings to income earned in the United States. If you earned your salary through lawful employment outside the U.S., you may use it for your EB-5 investment. You must provide supporting documentation, including:
- Tax returns filed in the country where you worked
- Employment records such as foreign paystubs, wage statements, or equivalent documents showing your compensation
- Bank statements confirming deposits of salary from your employer over time
Tracing Deposits and Transfers
Tax returns and pay stubs help establish that you earned a salary abroad; however, they are not enough on their own. The EB-5 process requires showing where those earnings were actually deposited and how they accumulated over time.
Bank statements are the primary documents used to trace the flow of funds. We must identify specific salary deposits, matching them to your employment records, and then account for how the remaining balance was built up over time, taking into consideration spending and any transfers out of the relevant account(s).
Currency Conversion
If your funds were earned and saved in a foreign currency, you’ll need to provide documentation showing how the funds were converted to U.S. dollars. This may include bank statements, transfer receipts, currency exchange confirmations, or any other official records from the financial institution involved in the conversion process.
Investment with EB-5 Project
In addition to proving that the salary was lawfully earned, you must also show how those earnings were ultimately invested in the EB-5 project. This involves providing a clear paper trail documenting how the funds moved between accounts, whether between foreign accounts, from a foreign account to a U.S. bank, or directly into the EB-5 project account.
If you have any questions regarding EB-5 source of funds, please email us at rpatel@psbplaw.com and jtrevino@psbplaw.com.