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This can be relatively straightforward cases if the E-2 investor’s company has already met the EB-5 investment and job-creation requirements. Still, even if the business has grown by sufficient employment to qualify for EB-5, the investor frequently will have not met the “investment”requirement because the investor started the E-2 business with well under the minimum investment requirements. This is because the investment must be contributed to—not simply generated by—the U.S.company. Therefore, “retained earnings” cannot be counted as investment unless they are distributed to the investor, the investor pays income tax on them, and the investor reinvests the after-tax funds into the business. Even if your company could withdraw such a large lump sum, it could create cash flow issues. Only you can decide whether the tax detriment and operational pain is worth the green card benefit.

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