Yes, a gift is a permitted origin of EB-5 capital, but the burden shifts to proving the donor's money was lawfully earned and lawfully transferred. The gift terms must be real. Your qualifying amount is unchanged: US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 for a targeted employment area or infrastructure project.
Why the donor's history becomes part of your eligibility
The petition asks about your capital, and gifted capital carries the donor's history with it. In a hypothetical file, your brother's three property sales each need an ownership record and a closing statement, and the proceeds need to be visible landing in an account before they reach you. Anything unexplained in your brother's file becomes unexplained in yours.
Exact criteria beyond these points call for current counsel review. A gift must be genuine, meaning the donor retains no expectation of repayment and no informal understanding that the funds will be returned once status is secured. Execute a signed gift instrument describing the relationship, the amount and the absence of any repayment condition, rather than relying on an oral family understanding.
Where the donor's records originate outside the country, arrange certified translations and confirm that foreign banking or property records meet the same documentary standard immigration counsel would expect domestically. Disclose the relationship and the gift's terms accurately, since an unexplained family transfer invites more scrutiny than a documented one, even when the underlying funds are entirely legitimate.