EB-5 in the Digital Currency Age
How EB-5 investors can explore the emerging and growing world of digital currencies when transferring funds .
By Rana Jazayerli
Some people interested in the EB-5 immigrant investor visa are finding it increasingly difficult to move their investment funds to the U . S . This is a result of many countries instituting strict rules and limits on the exchange of their local currency to U . S . dollars and on the transfer of such funds to the United States . This has been an ongoing issue for investors in China , who dominate the EB-5 investor program .
However , it is also an issue for investors from many other countries , including Vietnam and Ethiopia . Recent changes in local currency laws , as well as stricter requirements on sourcing of funds by the U . S . Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ), have added additional complications and barriers to using traditional currency and banking for the exchange and transfer of funds internationally . For example , in January of 2017 , China issued new rules requiring disclosure of the purpose of the currency exchange , and certification that the exchange is not for the purpose of immigration , or that an individual is not exchanging funds on behalf of another person to assist somebody in exchanging currency . And as of July 1 , 2017 , new regulations further limited the transfer of funds from China to another country to about RMB 50,000 ($ 7,500 ) per day per person .
In Turkey , the worsening political climate has made it very difficult for citizens to transfer funds out of the country altogether . Simultaneously , USCIS has started requiring evidence of the legitimacy of the source of funds of the third-party individual or entity that assist the EB-5 investor in the exchange of currency through “ currency swaps ” - where an EB-5 investor transfers local currency to an account for the individual or entity in the home country , and then that individual or entity transfers the equivalent in U . S . dollars to an account that the investor opens outside of the home country . Despite challenges , there may be a digital solution to this at the tip of an EB-5 investor ’ s fingers - the emerging and growing world of digital currencies .
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