IN THIS GUIDE · Source of funds from a land sale and a secured loan
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Document the sale as a chain, not a deposit
A deposit shows money arriving; it does not show where the money came from. For land sold, the chain runs from how the property was originally acquired, through the ownership record, to the sale agreement, the closing statement, the discharge of any mortgage, the tax treatment of the gain, and the deposit itself. Assemble it in that order. Where the land was inherited or held for decades, the earliest links may be thin, and identifying that gap early gives time to obtain registry records rather than explaining an absence at the last moment. Build the evidence chain in chronological order. For a sale, keep the original ownership record, purchase agreement, closing statement, proof of receipt, and bank movement. For earnings, collect contracts, tax filings, payroll records, and deposits that reconcile. An unexplained transfer between accounts can interrupt an otherwise lawful story, so label every link before it is submitted.
Treat borrowed capital as its own question
Borrowing to fund an EB-5 investment is not prohibited, but the loan requires its own evidence: the agreement, the security given, the lender's identity, and proof that the investor is personally liable. Capital secured by the assets of the new commercial enterprise itself is treated differently from a loan secured on the investor's own unrelated property. Show the source of the lender's funds where the lender is a private party. The loan proceeds then join the same traceable path as the sale proceeds. Borrowed capital requires a separate collateral analysis. Identify the lender, loan terms, pledged asset, valuation, ownership, and proof that the borrower actually received the proceeds. A loan secured only by the enterprise interest may create problems; do not assume its label resolves the issue. The review should also show that the funds used in the investment reached the required enterprise.
Check the amount against the current threshold
Under the 2022 legislation the standard investment amount is one million fifty thousand United States dollars, with eight hundred thousand for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project, and the statute provides for periodic adjustment. Confirm the amount in force for the actual filing rather than relying on a figure quoted in a brochure. Whether a specific project sits in a qualifying targeted employment area is a factual question about the project, and the designation should be checked rather than assumed from marketing material. Use the current applicable investment amount, not a remembered figure from a prior offering. Confirm whether the project qualifies for any reduced threshold and keep the location analysis with the subscription or project record. The amount is only one gate: lawful source, investment structure, job creation, and the investor's qualifying role all remain independently important.
Keep jobs and participation in view
The investment must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying United States workers, and the methodology for counting them differs between a direct investment and a regional centre project. The investor must also be engaged in management or policy formulation, which a qualifying limited partnership interest can satisfy but passive ownership cannot. Conditional permanent residence lasts two years, after which the conditions must be removed through the later petition. None of that is affected by how carefully the source of funds was traced. Read the job methodology before subscribing. Identify whether jobs are direct, indirect, or induced under the applicable project structure, what evidence will later support them, and who controls those records. The investor also needs a qualifying management or policy-formulation role. A projected ten jobs is not merely marketing language; it is an immigration condition that will matter again at removal of conditions.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.