U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on September 29 and published in the Federal Register on September 30 (FR Doc. 2026-20016) the final EB-5-specific fee rule. The new schedule applies to filings on or after November 30, 2026.
Background
The rule follows the EB-5 fee proposal DHS published on October 23, 2025. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) requires DHS to complete a program-specific fee study before adjusting EB-5 fees — the same reason the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado stayed the 2024 EB-5 fee increases in Moody v. Noem in November 2025. USCIS has charged the pre-April 2024 fees ever since.
DHS projects annual EB-5 program costs of about $105 million against roughly $56.6 million of revenue at current fees — a gap of about $48.4 million. The new fees are designed to close it and fund adjudications, regional center audits, site visits, and anti-fraud work.
Main changes
| Item | Current | From Nov 30, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| I-526E initial filing | $3,675 | $7,850 (includes $75 technology fee) |
| I-526 (standalone) | $3,675 | $7,615 |
| EB-5 Integrity Fund fee (with I-526E) | $1,000 | $1,100 |
| I-829 removal of conditions | $3,750 | $5,000 |
| I-956 designation (initial / amendment) | $17,795 | $44,115 / $9,835 |
| I-956F project application | $17,795 | $42,675 |
| I-956G annual statement | $3,035 | $2,165 |
| Regional center Integrity Fund annual fee | $20,000 / $10,000 | $22,000 / $11,000 |
The most direct effect for investors: government fees for an initial I-526E filing rise from $4,675 to $8,950, an increase of $4,275.
Lower than proposed
The October 2025 proposal had set the I-526 at $9,625. Industry commenters including IIUSA argued the proposed levels were out of step with investors’ realities; the final rule sets the I-526 at $7,615 and the I-526E at $7,850. IIUSA’s September 30 statement called the reduction “a win for the industry and for the investors the program is designed to serve.”
The rule also creates Form I-527 ($10,330), allowing pre-RIA I-526 petitioners to amend their petition and preserve eligibility when their regional center is terminated.
Two different “price increase” dates
- November 30, 2026 — USCIS filing fees change. An I-526E properly filed before this date pays the current fee.
- January 1, 2027 — statutory minimum investment amounts are inflation-adjusted for the first time. This is the RIA’s five-year CPI-U mechanism and is unrelated to the fee rule. Today the minimum is $800,000 for TEA and infrastructure projects and $1,050,000 otherwise.
What applicants should consider
- Investors whose project selection, source-of-funds work, and legal documents are complete may discuss timing with counsel — but filing quality should never be sacrificed to beat a fee increase.
- Higher fees fund stricter audits and oversight; scrutinize project structure, fund administration, and the regional center’s long-term management capacity accordingly.
- Budget and plan separately for both dates.
Further reading: EB-5 Fees at a Glance · Data Hub: fees · RIA Integrity Measures and the I-956 Form Family
Sources
- Federal Register, FR Doc. 2026-20016 (September 30, 2026), 8 CFR 106.2(d)
- USCIS alert, “USCIS Adjusts EB-5 Fees to Cover Program Costs and Strengthen Integrity Measures” (September 29, 2026)
- IIUSA, “DHS Reduces EB-5 Fees in Final Rule After IIUSA-Led Industry Pushback” (September 30, 2026)
- ARCFE (Chinese site), “USCIS finalizes new EB-5 fee rule, effective November 30” (October 8, 2026)