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CHAMPLAIN · EB-5 FIELD GUIDE

Is a gift from her parents lawful EB-5 capital for a Champlain investor?

Sources checked:

THE DIRECT ANSWER

Yes, provided the gift is genuine and irrevocable and the parents' own source of the funds is documented. The capital must be hers when invested, and she must be the one engaged in the enterprise.

Gifted capital qualifies when the donor's money would have qualified

USCIS accepts gifts as a source of EB-5 capital, and the regulations require only that the capital be the investor's own and lawfully obtained. Lawful obtaining is examined through the donor: the file must show how the parents came to have the money, which for a farm sale means the deed, the title history, the quota records and the tax returns around the disposition. The gift itself must be complete and irrevocable, evidenced by a signed deed stating that no repayment or return is expected, and any gift-tax or reporting obligation in either country is a matter for the family's tax adviser.

Once received, the funds are hers, and she invests them and takes the management or policy role personally. Her parents gain no status from the gift and cannot be added as derivatives. If the parents cannot or will not document their source, the gift should not be used, however generous.