Source of Funds

An immigrant investor must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the capital invested, or actively in the process of being invested, in the new commercial enterprise was obtained through lawful means.

In establishing that the capital was acquired through lawful means, the immigrant investor must provide evidence demonstrating the direct and indirect source of his or her investment capital.

As evidence of the lawful source of funds, the immigrant investor’s petition must be accompanied, as applicable, by:

• Foreign business registration records;
• Corporate, partnership, or any other entity in any form which has filed in any country or subdivision thereof any return described in this list, and personal tax returns, including income, franchise, property (whether real, personal, intangible), or any other tax returns of any kind filed within 5 years, with any taxing jurisdiction in or outside the United States by or on behalf of the immigrant investor;
• Evidence identifying any other source(s) of capital; or
• Certified copies of any judgments or evidence of all pending governmental civil or criminal actions, governmental administrative proceedings, and any private civil actions (pending or otherwise) involving monetary judgments against the immigrant investor from any court in or outside the United States within the past 15 years.[49]

The immigrant investor is required to submit evidence identifying any other source of capital. Such evidence may include:

• Corporate, partnership, or other business entity annual reports;
• Audited financial statements;
• Evidence of any loan or mortgage agreement, promissory note, security agreement, or other evidence of borrowing which is secured by the immigrant investor’s own assets, other than those of the new commercial enterprise, and for which the immigrant investor is personally and primarily liable;
• Evidence of income such as earnings statements or official correspondence from current or prior employers stating when the immigrant investor worked for the company and how much income the immigrant investor received during employment;
• Gift instrument(s) documenting gifts to the immigrant investor;
• Evidence, other than tax returns,[50] of payment of individual income tax, such as an individual income tax report or payment certificate, on the following:
  • Wages and salaries;
  • Income from labor and service or business activities;
  • Income or royalties from published books, articles, photographs, or other sources;
  • Royalties or income from patents or special rights;
  • Interest, dividends, and bonuses;
  • Rental income;
  • Income from property transfers;
• Any incidental income or other taxable income determined by the relevant financial department; \Evidence of property ownership, including property purchase or sale documentation; or
• Evidence identifying any other source of capital.