Pre-Immigration Tax and U.S. Investment Planning: Foreign-Source Income, Establishing Tax Residency, EB-5

This CLE/CPE webinar will provide tax counsel and advisers with a comprehensive guide to pre-immigration tax and investment planning challenges and opportunities under current tax law. The panel will discuss strategies for minimizing the U.S. tax impact of foreign-source ordinary and capital income before establishing tax residency in the U.S., detail the current EB-5 program for nonresidents seeking to establish permanent residency through investment in the U.S. economy, and review tax planning opportunities in structuring U.S. investments.

The United States provides an opportunity for high net worth foreign individuals to establish tax residency to take advantage of various tax provisions and immigration programs. This creates an opportunity for tax counsel and advisers to provide critical income and transfer tax planning to minimize the U.S. tax impact of preexisting foreign assets and to help design an immigration strategy through investment in the U.S.

Because the U.S. imposes tax on its residents' worldwide income, preserving the financial wealth of would-be immigrants to the U.S. may depend on accelerating income and gains and deferring deductions/losses before establishing U.S. residency. This is a desirable strategy if the U.S. statutory tax rate is higher than the immigrant's current tax home, but tax counsel must be aware of the impact on after-tax holdings.

Foreign investors, for income and transfer tax purposes, must balance various tax issues to determine the appropriate vehicle for making U.S. investments. Various ownership structures—whether direct ownership by a non-U.S. person or use of a foreign or domestic corporation, trust, or partnership—each have particular tax consequences for the foreign owner. Counsel must be well-versed in the tax consequences of various transactions and entity structures, plus the related tax compliance requirements.

Another critical aspect of pre-immigration planning is assisting clients with establishing U.S. residency and gaining immigration priority by applying for an EB-5 investor visa. This requires a substantial investment in a U.S. trade or business in which the immigrant would take an active role. Tax advisers need to thoroughly understand the requirements of this program to assist clients in the application process.

Listen as our experienced panel provides a thorough guide to the nuances of pre-immigration tax and U.S. investment planning, offering practical tips to help assist high net worth clients transition into the U.S. in a tax-efficient manner.