The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has finalised a new fee rule that will significantly impact Indian investors seeking US Green Cards through the EB-5 immigrant investor programme. According to immigration law firm Fragomen, the filing fee for Form I-526E, used by investors participating through an EB-5 regional centre, will rise to $7,850 from $3,675, representing an 114% increase. For standalone EB-5 investors filing Form I-526, the fee will increase to $7,615 from $3,675, a 107% increase. The changes were reported by Fragomen on September 29, with the final rule published in the Federal Register on September 30 and taking effect on November 30, 2026. The rule represents the first EB-5 fee schedule built on the program-specific fee study Congress required in the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.
The fee increases extend beyond individual investors to regional centres. According to Erickson Immigration Group, the fee for an initial Form I-956 application for regional-centre designation will rise from $17,795 to $44,115, representing a 148% increase. The Form I-956F project application fee will increase from $17,795 to $42,675, a 140% increase. However, some fees will decrease, with the I-956 amendment fee declining from $17,795 to $9,835 and the annual I-956G statement fee falling from $3,035 to $2,165. The final rule also creates a new Form I-527 with a filing fee of $10,330 for certain legacy EB-5 investors who filed original I-526 petitions before 2022 reforms. Additionally, the rule raises EB-5 Integrity Fund fees by 10%, adds a $75 technology fee to initial investor petitions, and creates new fees for regional centre amendments and annual statements.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that the new fee structure is intended to recover the cost of administering the EB-5 programme, support statutory processing-time goals and strengthen programme integrity. According to Erickson Immigration Group, USCIS said the revised fees are intended to recover the full cost of administering the programme, support fraud-prevention and compliance measures and meet processing-time goals established under the 2022 law. The Federal Register's rulemaking document indicated the fee changes are also intended to provide USCIS with resources needed to implement the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, including measures aimed at strengthening programme integrity through funding for compliance activities such as audits and site visits. The new fees land above today's court-restored levels but well below the April 2024 schedule that a federal court blocked, and below what DHS itself proposed a year ago for most investor forms.
The EB-5 investment itself remains separate from the government filing fee, with the current minimum investment at $800,000 for qualifying projects in targeted employment areas and $1.05 million for other qualifying investments. For an Indian family considering a regional-centre investment at the $800,000 level, the government charges associated with an initial I-526E filing would now be $8,950 before legal fees, project-related charges and other expenses. The fee increase comes as Indian professionals on H-1B visas increasingly examine EB-5 as an alternative route to permanent residency amid employment uncertainty and lengthy India-specific backlogs in employment-based categories. Adjustment of status, work permit, travel document and biometrics fees are separate and are not changed by this rule.
Immigration experts emphasize that investors should not rush incomplete petitions due to the November 30 deadline, as EB-5 applications require detailed documentation around lawful source and path of investment funds, as well as evidence relating to qualifying investment and job creation. Key considerations include checking the source of funds, examining underlying projects, distinguishing between unreserved EB-5 categories and set-asides, checking visa bulletin availability, and calculating complete costs including government fees, immigration lawyers, project charges and professional expenses. The EB-5 programme offers special visa set-asides for rural projects, high-unemployment areas and infrastructure projects, with set-aside categories remaining current for all countries even while the unreserved EB-5 category for India was unavailable for the remainder of fiscal 2026.
