Regional Center Update: ARCFE Reports I-485 and I-829 Approvals for Groups 7 and 8; Group 22 Skyline2 Breaks Ground in Long Island City
New York regional center ARCFE published four approval notices for its Group 7 and Group 8 projects, spanning the I-485 adjustment and I-829 removal-of-conditions stages, and held a groundbreaking ceremony on June 12 for Group 22 (Skyline2, to be branded Vera).
Senate Bill S. 5485 Would Replace EB-1 Through EB-5 With a Points System
Senator Tommy Tuberville introduced the Americans First Immigration Act (S. 5485) on September 23, 2026, proposing to overhaul family-sponsored immigration, replace employment-based preferences with points, and end the Diversity Visa. It is a bill, not law — but its transition provisions matter to EB-5 applicants.
DOL Suspends PERM Filings for Microsoft, Adobe and Six IT Firms: Which Green Card Cases Are Affected
On October 8, 2026, U.S. officials announced that the Department of Labor will stop accepting new permanent labor certification applications involving eight employers and pause pending ones. The impact depends on where each employee's sponsored case stands; existing H-1B status and issued green cards are not automatically affected.
DHS Proposes a $70,000 Institutional Fee for OPT, Adding Uncertainty to the Education-to-Employment Path
On October 7, 2026, DHS proposed requiring schools to pay $70,000 for an F-1 student's first OPT participation and $30,000 for each later recommendation. The rule is not final, but it is prompting students, universities, and employers to rethink the F-1 → OPT → H-1B path — and some families to look earlier at alternatives such as EB-5.
USCIS Finalizes EB-5 Fee Rule, Effective November 30, 2026: I-526E Rises to $7,850
The Federal Register published the EB-5-specific final fee rule on September 30. The initial I-526E fee rises from $3,675 to $7,850, the Integrity Fund fee to $1,100, the I-829 to $5,000, and the I-956F to $42,675 — lower than the October 2025 proposal. The change is separate from the January 1, 2027 inflation adjustment of investment amounts.
FY2027 Opens: China EB-5 Unreserved Chart B Jumps Four Years to March 2021
The State Department's October 2026 Visa Bulletin moves China's EB-5 unreserved Dates for Filing from March 1, 2017 to March 1, 2021 while Chart A holds at December 1, 2016; India's unreserved category is available again; all three set-aside categories remain Current.
IIUSA Q3 FY2026 I-526E Data: Demand Strong, Adjudications Slow, Denials Up, Pending Inventory at 11,192
IIUSA's analysis of USCIS data shows 1,665 EB-5 investor petitions received in April–June 2026, 904 I-526E adjudications with the approval rate down to 76%, and a pending I-526E inventory of 11,192 as of June 30 — up 25% year over year. Nearly 20,000 petitions have been filed since the RIA.
Industry Update: Post-RIA EB-5 Projects Begin Repaying Principal — ARCFE Groups 12 and 13 Return First $800,000 Tranches
New York regional center ARCFE reports that its first post-RIA offering, Group 12, repaid $800,000 to each of two investors in August 2026, and that Group 13 made its first repayment on September 8. These are early public examples of a post-RIA project completing the raise-build-repay cycle; this site highlights what investors should take from them.
DHS Proposes Comprehensive RIA Implementing Rule: TEAs, Redeployment, Penalties and Automatic Revocation; Comments Closed August 31
On July 2 DHS published the proposed rule "EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022; Ensuring the Integrity of the EB-5 Program; Automatic Revocation of Petitions for Immigrant Classification" (Docket USCIS-2026-0100), systematically writing the RIA into 8 CFR. IIUSA filed over 150 pages of comments. No final rule yet.