Green Card Chaos: EB-5 Fees Skyrocket, Application Rules Tighten

Foreign investor applicants using the EB-5 immigrant investor program will face a staggering increase in filing fees and significant changes to application procedures under a new Department of Homeland Security rule administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The revised fees will take effect on November 30, 2026, impacting investor petitions, existing investors, and regional centers involved in the program.

The EB-5 visa program demands eligible foreign investors to invest a minimum of $1.05 million in a qualifying business or $800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project, all while creating at least 10 full-time jobs.

USCIS operates primarily on fees rather than congressional funding, and DHS claims these changes aim to recover the costs associated with administering the EB-5 program.

The Trump administration has pushed for stricter control over legal immigration, including modifications to visa and green card programs. The increased fees will make this pathway to permanent residence significantly more expensive, adding thousands of dollars in government fees on top of the already hefty investment required.

Applications, petitions, and requests postmarked on or after November 30 must include the new fees established by this rule. Filings sent before that date will adhere to the fee schedule in effect at the time of submission.

DHS estimates that approximately 16,600 EB-5 filings will be affected annually. The department calculated a weighted average fee increase of about 70.7%, translating to roughly $2,946 per filing across nine existing forms covered by the rule. Individual increases will vary based on the specific form and any additional charges that apply.

The filing fee for Form I-526, utilized by standalone EB-5 investors, will jump from $3,675 to $7,615. This new amount includes a $75 technology fee aimed at enhancing USCIS systems for processing and adjudicating EB-5 filings.

For regional center investors filing Form I-526E, the initial filing fee will be set at $7,850, which also includes the technology charge. Additionally, investors must pay a separate EB-5 Integrity Fund fee that will rise from $1,000 to $1,100.

An amendment to Form I-526E will carry a fee of $7,775. Notably, the technology fee does not apply to an I-526E amendment as per the final regulation.

Form I-829, which qualifying investors use to request USCIS to remove conditions on their permanent resident status, will increase from $3,750 to $5,000. Investors may generally include an eligible spouse and children on their petition; however, family members not included may need to file separate petitions under specific circumstances outlined in the rule.

The rule introduces Form I-527, Amendment to Legacy Form I-526, with a filing fee of $10,330. This form is designated for certain investors who filed Form I-526 prior to the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 and need to amend their petitions due to the termination of a regional center or debarment of a new commercial enterprise or job-creating entity. It does not serve as a general replacement for Form I-526.

USCIS determined the fee based partly on projected demand and estimated costs for reviewing amendments. The agency anticipates about 20 filings annually but admits that data on expected usage of this form is limited.

Regional centers will also see an increase in annual EB-5 Integrity Fund fees. Centers with over 20 qualifying investors will now pay $22,000, up from $20,000; those with 20 or fewer will pay $11,000, up from $10,000.

These fees are intended to support oversight of the EB-5 program, including audits, site visits, and fraud investigations.

Regional centers that pay their annual Integrity Fund fees between November 1 and November 30 will incur a 10% penalty; this penalty rises to 20% for payments made between December 1 and December 30. Centers failing to pay the fee and any applicable penalty by December 30 risk termination of their designation.

Other fees are also set to rise. An initial Form I-956 application for regional-center designation will now cost $44,115, while Form I-956F will be priced at $42,675.

In related news, the State Department’s November Visa Bulletin indicates movement in several employment- and family-based green card categories. This bulletin dictates when applicants in numerically limited categories can proceed based on their priority date and country of chargeability.

For employment-based applicants, the EB-2 final action date has advanced by three months to April 1, 2025, for most countries; EB-3 has moved forward by one month to June 15, 2024. India experienced limited movement with its EB-3 final action date advancing by just 21 days while EB-2 remains unchanged. China's EB-3 date advanced by 14 days; its EB-2 date also remains static.

Family-sponsored categories saw larger advances. Final action dates for F1, F2B, and F3 family-sponsored categories advanced by one year for most countries including China and India. The F4 category also advanced by one year for most countries but remained unchanged for India, Mexico, and the Philippines. These Visa Bulletin changes are separate from the new EB-5 fee schedule taking effect November 30.

For EB-5 applicants, the unreserved category's final action dates remained unchanged while rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure set-aside categories remain current for all countries.

Immigration attorney Nandini Nair described the November Visa Bulletin as offering a "mixed picture." She noted that while there is meaningful movement in EB-2 for most countries and modest progress in EB-3, Indian professionals continue to face significant backlogs particularly in EB-1 and EB-2 categories.

Nair emphasized that while the continued use of the Dates for Filing chart provides some relief allowing eligible applicants to move forward with adjustment filings, filing an application does not guarantee receiving a green card. For many highly skilled professionals who have already spent years waiting, November brings more frustration than meaningful progress.

Gnanamookan Krishnan Senthurjothi, an immigration attorney and co-founder of The Visa Code law firm stated that Indian applicants saw “limited progress” in November.

He highlighted that the ongoing backlog underscores the lengthy wait facing Indian professionals seeking U.S. permanent residence.