would traditionally accompany commercial transactions
involving this type of goods. For example, depending
on the classification, it may be possible to obtain sales
receipts, sale-purchase agreements, or tax reports that
reflect either capital gain or ordinary
income consistent with the volume
of t h e m a n ife s te d d i g i t a l tr a d e .
W h e n d e a l i n g w i t h c o m p l i c a te d
source of funds issues, it is prudent
for an immigration practitioner to
err on a side of over-documenting
and to extend an effort to educate
t h e a d j u d i c a t o r. S i n c e m o s t o f
the investors using proceeds
from cr yptocurrency exchange
usually derive profits from buying
cryptocurrency and then selling it
at the higher price, the best way to
present the evidence is to simplify
this exchange for the adjudicator
describing it in the terms usually
applicable to the conventional
transactions.
be matched with “fair market value” of the bitcoin at the
date the payment was received and linked to the income
reported in the domestic tax declaration of the investor.
For clients using cryptocurrency exchanges (websites
where subscribers can buy, sell
or exchange cryptocurrencies for
other digital currency or traditional
tender like US dollars or Euro) the
record may be corroborated by
CSV files – a cryptocurrency data
available in a spreadsheet format
that can be downloaded from the
trading platform.
"When dealing
with complicated
source of funds
issues, it is prudent
for an immigration
practitioner to err
on a side of over-
documenting and to
extend an effort to
educate the adjudicator."
Eve n th o u g h s a l e r e c e i p t o r t a x
reports alone may not readily indicate
connection between particular transactions converting
cryptocurrency into cash and accumulated wealth, the
nexus may be established through the collateral evidence.
For instance, authenticated bank statements reflecting
credit of the proceeds from the sale of cryptocurrency may
98
EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE
WILL THESE
DOCUMENTS BE
SUFFICIENT?
When presenting sophisticated
financial documents that must
be considered cumulatively
for the proper interpretation, it
may be important to remind the
adjudicator that the legal standard
utilized in consideration of EB-5
petitions is “preponderance of evidence,” i.e. the evidence
must demonstrate by presentation of probative and
relevant materials that the claim is “probably true” or “more
likely than not” to be true. 5