EB-5 Seven Year Source of Funds Rule

INA §203(b)(5)(L) identifies applicable personal and entity tax returns filed during the past seven years, unless DHS establishes another period under the statute.

The seven-year language in the Reform and Integrity Act specifically addresses applicable tax records. The statute requires, as applicable, personal and entity tax returns filed during the past seven years, unless DHS establishes another period, together with foreign business registration records and other evidence identifying sources of capital or administrative fees. That requirement should be treated as a minimum documentary category rather than as a complete source-of-funds file. The petition must still establish that the invested capital and associated administrative payments were obtained from lawful sources and through lawful means.

An investor can have a present lawful source that depends on an asset or transaction older than seven years.

USCIS may need enough evidence to establish how that asset was lawfully acquired.

A seven-year tax return requirement is different from a seven-year limit on the history USCIS may examine. If money invested today came from selling an asset acquired ten or fifteen years ago, the earlier acquisition can be a necessary part of the lawful-source chain. The same is true when current capital represents accumulated business ownership, inherited property, or long-held securities. The practical question is whether the evidence explains the origin and path of the funds being invested, not simply whether each underlying event occurred within seven years.

If real estate purchased many years ago supplies the EB-5 capital, deed, purchase, mortgage, inheritance, gift, or prior source records may be relevant even though the current statute specifies seven years of tax returns.

When EB-5 capital comes from the sale or refinancing of older real estate, the source file should connect the present proceeds to the investor's lawful acquisition of the property. Depending on the facts, that can include the original deed or purchase contract, proof of the purchase price, mortgage or payoff records, inheritance or gift documentation, tax records, the later sale agreement, and bank records tracing the sale proceeds. If the property predates available banking records, the petition should identify what primary records remain and explain any genuine documentary gaps.

Formation, capitalization, purchase, inheritance, or ownership records can establish how the investor acquired the business whose profits or sale proceeds fund EB-5.

Longstanding business ownership often requires evidence from more than the most recent seven tax years. The record may need to show how the investor acquired or capitalized the company, the investor's ownership interest, the company's lawful operations, and how profits, dividends, a share sale, or business sale produced the EB-5 funds. Corporate registrations, ownership ledgers, historical financial statements, tax filings, sale documents, and bank records can serve different parts of that chain. The documentation should also distinguish company money from funds lawfully distributed or transferred to the investor personally.

Government certificates, archived bank records, accountant records, notarized transaction documents, tax records, and other independent evidence may help reconstruct older transactions.

Older records can be difficult to obtain because banks close archival systems, government registries change, businesses dissolve, or record-retention periods expire. A missing document should be addressed specifically rather than with a generic assertion that old records are unavailable. The investor can identify the document sought, explain why it no longer exists or cannot reasonably be obtained, and provide reliable secondary evidence where available. Examples may include government registry extracts, archived tax materials, accountant records, notarized transaction records, contemporaneous contracts, or other independent documents that corroborate the transaction.

• Seven years of applicable tax records
• Older acquisition records
• Deeds
• Business ownership records
• Historic bank statements
• Inheritance records
• Loan payoff records
• Government registries

A strong source-of-funds submission is usually organized as a chronological chain from the original lawful source through each material transfer to the EB-5 investment. The file should include the required tax and business records, documents for any older asset that generated the capital, bank statements and transfer records showing the path of funds, and certified translations where needed. The statute also requires the identity of persons who transfer funds into the United States on the investor's behalf. A concise transaction chart can help reconcile dates, amounts, accounts, and supporting exhibits.