The EB-5 petitioner is an individual. A company can be a funding source, but ownership of its shares alone does not establish that its money is the investor's qualifying personal capital. Review rights to the funds, payment authority, and legal characterization before selecting the structure.
Separating the petitioner from the payer
Suppose a company proposes sending US$800,000 directly to the project. Determine the basis on which it pays for the investor, who owns the contribution, and what obligations remain. A dividend may be one option on the facts; it is not a mandatory new transaction in every file. Immigration and tax advisers should examine the actual mechanism instead of changing records to describe a distribution that never occurred.
EB-5 capital must be obtained through lawful means, and the investor must demonstrate that by a preponderance of the evidence. Build a transaction chronology from the lawful source through each account, conversion, loan, gift, or sale into the new commercial enterprise. Obtain the economic analysis or payroll basis used and the allocation assigned under the direct or regional-center structure. The selected arrangement must support at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying US workers using a methodology permitted for that structure.