US More Than Doubles Key EB-5 Investor Visa Fees

Washington — The United States has finalized steep fee increases for the EB-5 immigrant investor program, more than doubling the cost of filing some petitions in a change likely to affect applicants from India seeking permanent residence through investment.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the revised fee structure Tuesday, with the new charges scheduled to take effect Nov. 30.

The filing fee for Form I-526, used by standalone investors, will increase from $3,675 to $7,615.

The fee for an initial Form I-526E petition, used by investors participating through an approved regional center, will rise from $3,675 to $7,850.

Initial I-526 and I-526E petitions will also carry a $75 technology fee. Regional center investors must additionally pay the program’s investor integrity fee.

The filing fee for Form I-829, used by investors seeking to remove conditions on their permanent resident status, will increase from $3,750 to $5,000.

Fees imposed on regional centers will rise even more sharply.

The fee for an initial Form I-956 application seeking regional center designation will increase from $17,795 to $44,115, while the fee for Form I-956F, used to seek approval of an investment in a commercial enterprise, will rise to $42,675.

The annual fee for Form I-956G, however, will decrease from $3,035 to $2,165.

The final rule also creates Form I-527 for certain investors seeking to amend older Form I-526 petitions. The new filing will carry a fee of $10,330.

The fee schedule was released for public inspection Tuesday and is expected to be formally published in the Federal Register on Wednesday.

USCIS said the increases are intended to ensure that application fees fully cover the cost of operating the EB-5 program, help the agency meet statutory processing goals and support stronger program-integrity measures.

Those measures include audits, compliance reviews, site visits and efforts to detect fraud and abuse.

USCIS is funded largely through application and petition fees rather than direct taxpayer funding. The agency said the costs of reviewing applications, confirming eligibility, conducting background checks and operating the program must therefore be covered by applicants.

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 directed USCIS to conduct a separate study of the program’s costs and establish fees sufficient to recover the full expense of administering it.

The law also established processing targets and expanded oversight of regional centers, promoters and investment projects.

The new rule will also increase the annual EB-5 Integrity Fund payment from $10,000 to $11,000 for regional centers with 20 or fewer investors. The charge for larger regional centers will rise from $20,000 to $22,000.

The rule establishes penalties for late payments. A regional center paying in November after the deadline could face a 10% penalty, while payments made in December could be subject to a 20% penalty. Continued nonpayment could lead to termination.

USCIS said the changes are aimed at strengthening the integrity of the EB-5 program while ensuring the agency has sufficient resources to process investor petitions.

Congress created the EB-5 program in 1990 to encourage foreign investment and job creation in the United States.

Qualifying investors can obtain conditional permanent residence for themselves, their spouses and eligible children by investing in a U.S. commercial enterprise and meeting job-creation requirements.

The program generally requires an investment of $800,000 in a targeted employment area or qualifying infrastructure project, or $1.05 million elsewhere.

For Indian applicants, the government filing fees are separate from the required investment amount, legal expenses and administrative fees charged by individual regional center projects. (Source: IANS)