USCIS Issues Statement on the Use of Loans as EB-5 Capital

On April 22, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) held an EB-5 Stakeholder Engagement to discuss various issues relating to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) Deputy Chief’s Remarks included an important clarification relating to the use of loan proceeds as capital. The remarks confirm that proceeds from a loan may qualify as capital for EB-5 investments, only if the requirements placed upon indebtedness by the relevant regulation are satisfied. The regulation states that “indebtedness” must be secured by assets owned by the alien entrepreneur, as long as the alien entrepreneur is “personally and primarily liable”, and that the assets of the new commercial enterprise upon which the petition is based are not used to secure any of the indebtedness. Moreover, the regulation also requires the submission of evidence of indebtedness showing that it is secured by assets of the petitioner, other than those of the new commercial enterprise, and for which the petitioner is personally and primarily liable.

Learn more about this significant statement and what it means for EB-5 Capital on our Immigration Blog.