EB-5 Source of Funds from Real Estate Sale

Deeds, land registry records, purchase contracts, title documents, and mortgage records can establish ownership and equity.

Property sale proceeds can serve as EB-5 capital when the investor establishes lawful ownership of the asset that was sold. Deeds, land registry extracts, purchase agreements, title certificates, mortgage records, inheritance documents, or other local ownership evidence can establish the investor's legal interest. Joint or entity-held property requires a clear explanation of the investor's share and authority to receive proceeds. The petition should identify the property, acquisition date, ownership percentage, and any encumbrances. If title changed shortly before the sale, the record should explain that history rather than begin only with the closing transaction.

The seven-year statutory tax-return rule does not automatically eliminate the need to explain how a valuable asset was originally acquired when that history is necessary to prove lawful source.

The source analysis may need to reach back to how the investor originally acquired the property when that history is necessary to establish that the asset itself was lawfully obtained. The post-RIA seven-year tax return requirement does not create a universal rule that older acquisition evidence becomes irrelevant. Purchase contracts, historic bank records, mortgage documents, income records, gift or inheritance documents, and other corroborating evidence may be appropriate depending on the facts. If older records no longer exist, the filing should document their unavailability and use reliable secondary evidence rather than leaving the acquisition of a valuable asset unexplained.

Sale contracts, closing statements, buyer payment records, tax documentation, and bank deposits can establish the proceeds.

The sale transaction should be documented from contract through receipt of proceeds. Useful records can include the executed purchase and sale agreement, closing statement, transfer or registration documents, buyer payment records, escrow statements, tax documents, and the investor's bank statements showing receipt. Related-party transactions or unusual payment structures may require additional evidence demonstrating that the sale was genuine and lawfully completed. If the buyer paid in installments or through several accounts, the filing should reconcile the individual receipts. The amount claimed as EB-5 source should correspond to money the investor actually received rather than only the headline contract price.

Mortgage payoff, liens, taxes, commissions, and other deductions can affect the amount of lawful proceeds available to invest.

Gross sale price and net proceeds are not the same. Mortgages, liens, taxes, broker commissions, transfer fees, closing costs, and other obligations can reduce the equity legally available to the investor. The source narrative should calculate the investor's net proceeds and support material deductions with payoff statements, lien releases, tax receipts, or closing records. If a mortgage itself was used to acquire or refinance the property, those records may also be relevant to the lawful source analysis. USCIS should be able to reconcile the amount deposited after closing with the amount later traced into the EB-5 investment.

Where a spouse or family member owned part of the property, the investor should establish the legal basis for receiving and using the proceeds.

Joint or family ownership requires documentation showing why the investor was entitled to use the portion of proceeds claimed as personal EB-5 capital. Title records can establish ownership percentages, while marital property law, co-owner consents, gift documentation, estate records, or distribution agreements may explain the investor's right to additional proceeds. If a spouse or relative transferred their share to the investor, that transfer may create a separate gift or source issue requiring its own evidence. The filing should distinguish the investor's original equity from amounts received from another owner rather than treating the entire property value as belonging automatically to one person.

• Purchase deed
• Title records
• Purchase funding evidence
• Mortgage records
• Sale contract
• Closing statement
• Tax records
• Bank statements

A property-sale source package should connect lawful ownership, acquisition, disposition, net proceeds, and the subsequent path into the EB-5 investment. Depending on the case, exhibits may include the original deed or purchase contract, acquisition funding evidence, mortgage records, title history, sale agreement, closing statement, tax records, buyer payment evidence, bank statements, currency exchange records, and wire confirmations to the new commercial enterprise. A transaction chronology can reconcile the property price, deductions, net receipt, conversions, and final transfer. Where records are unavailable, the petition should explain why and provide credible substitute evidence addressing the missing step.