EB-5 is about to get more expensive. A new final rule from the Department of Homeland Security roughly doubles the fee for a new investor petition, creates a $10,330 form for pre-2022 investors whose projects ran into trouble, and raises what regional centers pay to get designated and stay designated. USCIS says the new fees are designed to take effect on November 30, 2026. Here is what changed, what it costs, and what to do before then.
What happened
The final rule — "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment-Based Immigrant Visa, Fifth Preference (EB-5) Fee Rule", FR Doc. 2026-20016, RIN 1615-AC93, DHS Docket No. USCIS-2025-0139 — went on public inspection at the Federal Register on September 29, 2026. Formal publication is scheduled for September 30, 2026. USCIS announced it the same day in a newsroom alert.
The effective date is 60 days after Federal Register publication. USCIS puts it at November 30, 2026.
The rule that matters most for timing: anything postmarked on or after the effective date must carry the new fees. This finalizes the proposal DHS published on October 23, 2025, at 90 FR 48516.
Where the authority comes from: the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 is division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Public Law 117-103. Section 106 told DHS to run an EB-5-specific fee study and set fees that recover the full cost of running the program and support the statute's processing time goals. Section 106(c) lets DHS fold in up to one percent of the petition fee for technology improvements.
The same Act requires EB-5 Integrity Fund fees under INA section 203(b)(5)(J), 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(J): an annual fee from every regional center, plus penalties for paying late. The rule amends the USCIS fee schedule at 8 CFR 106.2 and the conditional residence rules at 8 CFR 216.6.
One background fact worth keeping in mind. The reformed Regional Center Program is authorized only through September 30, 2027. DHS says its analysis assumes Congress will extend it.
Why DHS says the fees had to go up
USCIS runs mostly on filing fees, not taxpayer money. The rule projects EB-5 program-specific costs at about $105 million. Revenue at today's fees? About $56.6 million. That leaves a gap of roughly $48.4 million.
The updated fee study also raised projected average annual EB-5 receipts from 11,262 to 16,604. DHS estimates the rule touches about 16,600 EB-5 filings a year and raises form fees by about 70.7 percent on a weighted-average basis — about $2,945.90 per filing.
Why the "current" fees look lower than you remember
If you paid EB-5 fees recently, the "current" numbers below may look wrong. They are not. They are the older, pre-2024 amounts.
DHS raised EB-5 fees in its general FY 2022/2023 fee rule (89 FR 6194, January 31, 2024), effective April 1, 2024. Then, on November 12, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado stayed those EB-5 fees in Moody v. Noem. The court concluded the EB-5 Reform Act precluded DHS from adjusting EB-5 fees through that general rule. USCIS went back to the fees in effect before April 1, 2024.
DHS says it thinks the decision is wrong but has implemented it. And no, the rule does not require refunds for investors who paid the higher 2024 fees.
What investors will pay
For investors, four forms matter most: the I-526, the I-526E, the I-829, and the new I-527.
- Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor: $3,675 now; $7,615 under the rule (up 107%).
- Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor (initial): $3,675 now; $7,850 under the rule (up 114%).
- Form I-526E amendment: $3,675 now; $7,775 under the rule.
- Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions: $3,750 now; $5,000 under the rule (up 33%).
- Form I-527, Amendment to Legacy Form I-526 (new form): $10,330.
- EB-5 Integrity Fund fee paid with each Form I-526E: $1,000 now; $1,100 under the rule.
The I-526 and initial I-526E figures each include a $75 EB-5 Technology Fee. Small consolation: both came in below the $9,625 DHS proposed in 2025.
What regional centers will pay
- Form I-956, Application for Regional Center Designation (initial): $17,795 now; $44,115 under the rule.
- Form I-956 amendment: $17,795 now; $9,835 under the rule — a decrease.
- Form I-956F, Application for Approval of Investment in a Commercial Enterprise: $17,795 now; $42,675 under the rule.
- Form I-956G, Regional Center Annual Statement: $3,035 now; $2,165 under the rule — also a decrease.
- Form I-956H, Bona Fides of Persons Involved with Regional Center Program: no fee now; $65 under the rule.
- Form I-956K, Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters: no fee now; $2,165 under the rule.
Why did the initial I-956 and the I-956F land above the proposal while the I-956 amendment fell? Commenters pushed back, and DHS moved the estimated cost of regional center terminations and reaffirmations onto initial Form I-956 and Form I-956F filings only, taking it off Form I-956 amendments.
The Integrity Fund fee, and what happens if a center pays late
Integrity Fund fees go up 10 percent, an inflation adjustment based on Consumer Price Index data from 2022 to 2025. Under the new 8 CFR 106.2(d)(10), every designated regional center owes $22,000, due October 1 of each year — or $11,000 if it had 20 or fewer total investors in its new commercial enterprises as of the last day of the preceding fiscal year. Payment goes through Pay.gov.
The penalty ladder is now in the regulation:
- Paid November 1 through November 30: a 10 percent penalty.
- Paid December 1 through December 30: a 20 percent penalty.
- Not paid, penalty included, by December 30: USCIS terminates the designation. It sends a notice of intent to terminate first, and the termination can be appealed under 8 CFR 103.3.
"Total investors" has its own definition in the rule. It leaves out investors whose petitions were denied, withdrawn, or revoked, and investors who have already filed to remove conditions.
Form I-527: the new form for pre-2022 investors
This one is for a specific, and usually unhappy, group: investors who filed before the EB-5 Reform Act was enacted and now need to amend their petition to keep their eligibility because their regional center was terminated, or their new commercial enterprise or job-creating entity was debarred. The relief itself comes from INA section 203(b)(5)(M), 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(M).
What the rule's discussion tells affected investors:
- A Form I-527 is not a new petition. You keep your original priority date, and there are no penalties for seeking this relief.
- Still eligible despite the termination? Then you do not need to file a Form I-527 just to reaffiliate with a new regional center.
- No fee waiver. DHS also refused to lower the fee for investors hit by terminations or debarments that had nothing to do with their own conduct.
- DHS says it will hold to the statutory deadlines in INA 203(b)(5)(M), though it may extend them in some circumstances under INA 203(b)(5)(M)(v)(II).
The final fee is higher than the $8,000 DHS proposed. For a sense of scale, the rule reports that as of July 20, 2026, about 10 percent of investors who responded to USCIS's first set of notices said they wanted to amend.
Removing conditions: spouses, children, and former spouses
This part is easy to miss in a fee rule, and it matters to families. The rule rewrites 8 CFR 216.6(a)(1)(ii), which governs I-829 filings by family members:
- The investor may include a spouse and children on the I-829. Anyone not included must file a separate petition — unless the investor has died.
- If the investor has died, the spouse and children may file separately or together in one petition.
- The investor may include a child who turned 21 or married during the conditional residence period, and a former spouse who divorced the investor during that period. Anyone left off files their own.
- If the investor never files an I-829, a spouse, former spouse, or child can still remove conditions by establishing eligibility on their own.
The catch: every separate filer is tied to the investor's clock. They must file during the period when the investor was, or would have been, required to file. Under INA section 216A(d)(2), 8 U.S.C. 1186b(d)(2), that is generally the 90-day period before the second anniversary of obtaining conditional residence. DHS turned down requests to let separately filing family members combine their petitions.
What the rule leaves alone
Premium processing. The rule states it does not change premium processing fees and did not factor premium processing costs or revenue into the EB-5 fees.
What to do now
Ready to file a Form I-526 or I-526E? Think hard about filing before the effective date. The new fees apply to filings postmarked on or after it. A complete petition postmarked earlier should go in with the current fees.
I-829 window coming up? Plan around the date. The fee goes from $3,750 to $5,000. You cannot simply file early to beat it — filing early is not permitted outside the statutory 90-day window — so confirm when yours opens.
Sort out your family members' I-829 filings now. If a child has turned 21 or married, or you have divorced, decide whether they go on your petition or file their own.
Regional center terminated? Respond to any USCIS notice quickly. Form I-527 deadlines are statutory, and the fee is $10,330 with no waiver.
Regional centers: redo the budget and the payment calendar. Build the new designation, I-956F, I-956K, and Integrity Fund amounts into project economics. Treat October 1 and the December 30 cut-off as hard dates, because the regulation does.
EB-5 cases tie up significant capital for a long time, and a filing-fee change is one of the few parts of the process you can actually plan around. If you want help timing your filings, our attorneys are glad to walk through your case.
This post is attorney advertising and is provided for general information only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration law changes rapidly; consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific situation.
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