Yes. Current USCIS policy treats lawfully obtained loan proceeds contributed as cash, so they need not satisfy the personal-liability and personal-collateral test that applies when indebtedness itself is contributed. The investor must own and trace the cash, place it at risk, and meet the current US$1,050,000 amount or US$800,000 amount for a targeted employment area or infrastructure project, subject to adjustment from January 1, 2027.
Cash loan proceeds and contributed indebtedness follow different rules
The EB-5 rules distinguish cash obtained through borrowing from indebtedness contributed directly as capital. Following Zhang v. USCIS, current USCIS policy treats lawfully obtained loan proceeds that the investor contributes as cash, so the proceeds do not have to be secured by the investor's own assets or satisfy a separate personal-liability test.
A Canadian bank's mortgage loan paid to the Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade landowner's account can therefore qualify if she owns the proceeds, documents their lawful source and path, and places them at risk in the new commercial enterprise. The amount must meet the threshold for the project's location, and the investment must support ten full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers per investor under the applicable methodology.
She must also be engaged in the enterprise's management or policy formulation. If the grain company borrows and then lends or distributes money to her, that structure is not automatically excluded, but the corporate authority, transfer, her legal ownership of the cash, and the complete source-and-path chain must all be documented.