Sorry, I’m not immigration attorney but I have access to some and a what I believe to be a good investment.
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How can I combine OZ investments with EB-5 benefits?
I’m a foreign national with U.S. capital gains to reinvest. Can I use an OZ investment to get immigration benefits and an eventual green card?
Answers
There is no restriction on combining OZ tax benefits with other benefits, including EB-5.
Yes, to my limited knowledge, there is nothing in the Opportunity Zone law to preclude such investment, but you must have U.S. taxable capital gains in order to get the tax benefits. And go through the EB-5 process.
In order to use the programs together, which I think is technically possible, the entity into which you invested (i.e., the entity that was set up by the regional center to receive your investment), would need to be a Qualified Opportunity Fund and the investment it makes would need to be an equity investment into a project entity that would need to qualify as a qualified Opportunity Zone business. While this is possible, it would require the regional center to structure the investment to comply with both the EB-5 and the OZ programs.
You would need to find an EB-5 regional center that already has approved projects in Opportunity Zones.
I am not aware of a reason that would not work. However, I am not very familiar with the EB-5 program. Also, your email referred to "U.S. capital gains." I believe that non-resident aliens can get the no tax on appreciation benefit by rolling capital gains that the U.S. does not tax into a QOF. No need for the deferral or elimination because there is no tax in the first place.
No, there are no immigration benefits associated with OZ investment.
You can structure an investment as required under EB-5 rules in an Opportunity Zone. Those rules operate independently, but if capital gain is brought into the fund that owns the business, additional tax benefits can be conferred to the foreign national and other investors who invest with money that would otherwise be taxable capital gain.
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