The Purchase of an Existing EB5 Business that is Restructured or Reorganized

The immigrant investor can invest in an existing business, regardless of when that business was first created, provided that the existing business is simultaneously or subsequently restructured or reorganized such that a new commercial enterprise results. The facts of Matter of Soffici—where an investor purchased a Howard Johnson hotel and continued to run it as a Howard Johnson hotel—were not sufficient to establish a qualifying restructuring or reorganization. (“A few cosmetic changes to the decor and a new marketing strategy for success do not constitute the kind of restructuring contemplated by the regulations, nor does a simple change in ownership.”). On the other hand, examples that could qualify as restructurings or reorganizations include a plan that converts a restaurant into a nightclub, or a plan that adds substantial crop production to an existing livestock farm.

Taken directly from U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s EB-5 Adjudications Policy Memorandum on May 30, 2013.