Documents

The following documents are the most frequently required when submitting them in support of the Immigrant Investor Visa.  Remember that not all documents are applicable in each case so submit only the documents that apply.  Additionally, the following list is not meant to be exhaustive.

A.  Evidence showing that the new commercial enterprise has been established by the petitioner in the US.

1. Articles of Incorporation, Organizational Minutes and Bylaws.
2. Certificate of Merger or Consolidation.
3. Partnership Agreement, Certificate of Limited Partnership, Joint Venture Agreement, Business Trust Agreement, or other similar organizational document for the new commercial enterprise. (Include both the Holding Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, if applicable).
4. Business Licenses and Resale Permits (Sales Tax Permits), if applicable.
5. Signed Leases to business premises, or if real estate has been purchased, both the Grant Deed and Closing Statement are required, as well as signed contracts for construction of the premises, if applicable; a description of the physical premises, including photographs, or drawings of the planned premises if not yet constructed.
6. Evidence of the purchase or lease of office equipment.
7. Employment records.
8. Telephone and utility bills.
9. Bank statements.
10. Affidavits from business counsel, brokers, public accountants, or other relevant professionals conducting business with the enterprise.
11. Certified corporate tax records for the new enterprise, if applicable.
12. Evidence of assets that have been purchased for use in the US enterprise, including invoices, sales receipts, and purchase contracts.
13. A description of what the enterprise has done to date including income and expense figures (both actual to-date figures and figures projected for two years).
14. A list of assets and prices of items to be purchased.
15. A professionally-prepared comprehensive business plan (of the grade required to obtain a sizeable loan from a financial institution) which indicates the type of business, goals, financial forecasts and projections for implementation of the business plan, including requested capitalization and anticipated return on the investment, and estimated timetables for construction, commencement of operations, and hiring.
16. Specific market research demonstrating that the target area for business will support it.
17. Credentials of key persons responsible for development and management of the business enterprise, including the investor if applicable.

B. Evidence showing that the petitioner has invested or is actively in the process of investing the requisite amount of capital.

1. Document the purchase of assets for exclusive use by the new commercial enterprise in the United States, including invoices, sales receipts, and purchase contracts containing sufficient information to identify such assets, their purchase costs, date of purchase, and purchasing entity.
2. Evidence of property transferred from abroad for exclusive use by the new commercial enterprise in the United States, including United States Customs Service commercial entry documents, bills of lading, and transit insurance policies containing ownership information and sufficient information to identify the property and to indicate the fair market value of such property.
3. Evidence of monies transferred or committed to be transferred to the new commercial enterprise in exchange for shares of stock or other form of ownership (such stock or ownership agreement may not include terms requiring the new commercial enterprise to redeem the investor’s shares of stock or ownership at the investor’s request).
4. Evidence of any loan or mortgage agreement, promissory note, security agreement, or other evidence of borrowing which is secured by assets of the petitioner, other than those of the new commercial enterprise, and for which the petitioner is personally and primarily liable.
5. In cases where all or part of the required capital consists of a promissory note, the investor may not be able to exercise a sell option, and the new commercial enterprise may not be able to exercise a buy-out option, until the promissory note is paid in full, and no portion of the investor’s requisite capital, or interest earned from it, may be used to make payment on such a promissory note.
6. A promissory note is acceptable only when the petitioner is clearly obligated to make all the required payments on the note and there are no escape clauses.
7. In addition, if all or part of the assets used to secure the promissory note, including real property, are located outside the jurisdiction of the Unites States Courts, the petitioner must provide evidence of the direct enforceability against such assets by a United States Court, the security interests in the note are perfected in the jurisdiction in which the assets are located and the assets are fully amenable to seizure by a US note holder.
8. If any portion of the required capital is in the form of cash, the deposit of the funds into the business bank account of the new commercial enterprise must be documented in the form of bank statements or receipts, clearly identifying both the payer (the petitioner) and the payee (the new commercial enterprise). Unsupported secondary evidence such as affidavits and photocopies of checks will not suffice. Depositing the funds into the personal bank account of the investor is not acceptable.
9. The petitioner must submit copies of all relevant agreements between the petitioner and any other parties (including the new commercial enterprise), signed and dated by all parties involved, and must include all attachments, exhibits, addendums, and any other relevant documents referred to within the body of the agreement and the attachments thereto.

C.  Evidence that the petitioner has invested, or is actively in the process of investing, capital obtained through lawful means.

1. Foreign business registration records along with audited financial statements certified by an independent public accountant.
2. Certified US and foreign business or personal tax records.
3. Certified tax returns filed by the investor.
4. Loan documents from financial institutions.
5. Affidavits verifying donations or loans from family members and friends, including evidence that the donor or lender obtained the capital through lawful means.
6. Other credible and verifiable information relating to the past and existing business of the investor and the investor’s current financial standing.
7. Evidence identifying any other source(s) of capital.
8. 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 petitioner from any court in or outside the United States within the past fifteen years.
9. The evidence must be sufficient to establish that the entire amount of statutory capital has been obtained through lawful means. (Evidence of the investor’s current financial worth such as bank statements and property appraisals does not establish that the capital was obtained through lawful means).

D.  Evidence showing that a new commercial enterprise will create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying employees (per investor).

1.     The petitioner must demonstrate that the required number of employees have been hired, and include an organizational chart showing their job titles, names, hire dates, and US immigration status, state or federal quarterly payroll contribution returns, and Form I-9 for each employee hired. 37. If the requisite number of persons have not yet been hired, submit a comprehensive business plan indicating that due to the nature and projected size of the new commercial enterprise, the need for not fewer than the required number of employees will result, and include an organizational chart showing the number of employees to be hired, a list of job titles, estimated pay, and approximate dates, within the next two years, when such employees will be hired.
2. The investor should indicate how many positions are full-time (that is, at least 35 hours per week).
3. The investor should also indicate which employees, if any, are his or her relatives and identify each relative/employee’s relationship to the investor.

E.  Evidence showing that the petitioner is or will be engaged in the management of the new commercial enterprise—either through the exercise of day-to-day managerial control or through policy formulation—as opposed to maintaining a purely passive role regarding the investment.

1. The petitioner must demonstrate that the investor will be included in the management of the new commercial enterprise, either through policy formulation or day-to-day managerial functions, or evidence that the investor is a corporate officer or member of the corporate board of directors.
2. In the case of a limited partnership, the partnership agreement must provide the petitioner with certain rights, powers, and duties normally granted to limited partners under the Uniform Limited Partnership Act, followed by many states, or by the law governing limited partnerships in the state in question.

F.  Additional Requirements.
Any document submitted showing an amount in a foreign currency must be accompanied by a current currency exchange rate chart indicating the appropriate exchange rate from the foreign currency to US dollars.