EB-5 Fees at a Glance: Current Schedule vs. the November 30, 2026 Rule
The 2024 EB-5 fee increases were stayed by a federal court, so USCIS currently charges the older schedule (I-526E $3,675). A final rule published September 30, 2026 raises the I-526E to $7,850 and the I-829 to $5,000 for filings on or after November 30, 2026. Investor-side and regional-center-side fees, stage by stage.
Concurrent I-485 Filing Under the RIA
Who is eligible to file Form I-485 concurrently with Form I-526E under the RIA, the practical benefits including work and travel authorization, the caveats on travel, status gaps, and children, and the basic process steps.
The RIA in Brief: What Changed in EB-5 After 2022
How the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act changed investment amounts, TEA designation, visa set-asides, regional center oversight, the integrity fund, and concurrent I-485 filing.
The Two-Year Sustainment Period Explained
An explanation of the October 2023 USCIS policy on the investment sustainment period, the different rules for pre-RIA and post-RIA investors, what "at risk" means, and how the period interacts with repayment, redeployment, and ongoing litigation.
Regional Center Reauthorization in 2027: Lessons from Past Lapses
A review of the 2015 to 2021 short-term extension cycle and what happened to pending petitions during the 2021 lapse, how the RIA changed the consequences of a lapse, and the possible scenarios after the September 30, 2027 sunset.
The Grandfathering Clause: Why September 30, 2026 Matters
What the RIA grandfathering clause protects and what it does not, how the September 30, 2026 cutoff differs from the September 30, 2027 sunset, and the practical implications for filing timing.
Priority Date Retention: Keeping Your Place in Line When Projects Change
The priority date fixes an investor's position in the visa queue. This article explains the RIA rules on retaining it when a new I-526E must be filed after regional center or project termination, the situations in which it cannot be kept, and what a project change means at each stage.
The Three Reserved Visa Categories: Rural, High-Unemployment, Infrastructure
How the RIA's 20%, 10%, and 2% visa set-asides and their carryover rules work, why the reserved categories are Current while the unreserved category is backlogged, and the risk of over-subscription over time.
How EB-5 Visas Are Allocated: the 7.1% Share, Per-Country Caps, and Fall-Across
From the 7.1% share of employment-based visas to the 7% per-country ceiling and the separate accounting for set-aside categories, this article explains how EB-5 visa numbers are allocated, why China- and India-born applicants face backlogs, and why family members count against the quota.
How Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) Are Designated
An explanation of the rural and high-unemployment TEA definitions under the RIA, who designates them, the census tract adjacency rule, required evidence, common misconceptions, and why TEA status affects both the investment amount and visa set-asides.
RIA Integrity Measures and the I-956 Form Family
How the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act rebuilt regional center oversight through Forms I-956, I-956F, I-956G, I-956H, and I-956K, the fund administrator and audit requirement, the penalties for non-compliance, and what investors should ask for before subscribing.
A History of EB-5: From 1990 to the RIA
A timeline of the EB-5 program from its creation in 1990 and the 1992 regional center pilot through repeated short-term extensions, the 2019 modernization rule, the 2021 lapse, the 2022 RIA, and the 2027 sunset.