IN THIS GUIDE · Tracing an inheritance and a house sale through probate into an EB-5 investment
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Inherited funds need the estate's documents and the decedent's history
For an inheritance, USCIS expects the will or the intestacy determination, the death certificate, the probate or notarial estate documents identifying the beneficiaries and their shares, the estate accounting showing what was distributed and when, and the bank records of the distribution arriving in the investor's account. That establishes that the money came to her lawfully. The adjudicator may also ask how the decedent acquired the wealth, especially where the estate is large relative to what a lifetime of declared income would suggest. Tax returns of the deceased for a period of years, the sale records of his own property or business and a short narrative from the executor usually answer that. Requesting these documents from the executor early is the single most effective step, since estates close and files are archived.
The house sale is simpler but has its own traps
Proceeds of selling a principal residence are documented by the purchase-and-sale agreement, the statement of adjustments or closing statement from the notary showing the net amount after the mortgage discharge and fees, and the bank credit matching that figure. The trap lies further back: the adjudicator may ask how the house was acquired, so the original purchase deed, the mortgage records and evidence of the income that serviced the mortgage belong in the file. If the home was co-owned with a spouse, his half of the proceeds is his, and using it in her petition requires either a documented gift from him with his own source traced or a decision to treat him as a co-investor in a way the regional center's documents support. Renovations funded from other sources and later recovered in the sale price are not usually a problem but should be mentioned where large.
One traced path from two sources into the enterprise
Once both sources are established, the path must be continuous: the inheritance arriving, the sale proceeds arriving, any consolidation into a single account, the conversion from Canadian dollars with the exchange record, and the wire into the regional center's escrow or the new commercial enterprise. Every transfer needs a matching statement on both sides, and gaps or unexplained deposits in the same period must be addressed. The investment must be currently US$800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project, or US$1,050,000 otherwise, subject to statutory adjustment and to be verified for the filing date; it must be at risk, create at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying workers, and she must be engaged in management or policy-making, which limited-partner rights satisfy. After petition approval and immigrant-visa admission or adjustment of status, the investor, spouse and unmarried children under 21 receive two years of conditional permanent residence and must file Form I-829 during the 90-day period before the second anniversary to remove conditions.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.