Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, FEDERAL REGULATIONS—USCIS announces final rule revising EB-5 fees, other provisions, (Sep 29, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

DHS has finalized a new EB-5 fee rule that raises many investor and regional-center filing fees, arguing the program's current fee structure no longer generates enough revenue to cover operating costs.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has finalized a new fee rule for the Employment-Based Immigration, Fifth Preference (EB-5) immigrant investor program. The final rule adjusts the EB-5 immigration benefit request fees charged by USCIS and codifies provisions of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, implements new statutory requirements, and addresses public comments received on the proposed fee rule published on October 23, 2025.

The new rule significantly increases many filing fees from what they were prior to the final rule’s publication, while codifying provisions of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. The agency says the changes are necessary to fully fund administration of the program, strengthen oversight, and meet congressionally mandated processing goals.

EB-5 allows foreign nationals to obtain permanent residence by investing in qualifying U.S. businesses that create jobs. The program currently allocates approximately 10,000 immigrant visas each year to investors and their dependents. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act authorized DHS to conduct a program-specific fee study and establish fees intended to recover the full costs of administering the program.

Noteworthy shift. The final rule going into tomorrow’s Federal Register represents a notable shift from the October 2025 proposal, however. In the proposed rule, USCIS concluded that existing EB-5 fees would generate more revenue than needed to cover projected program costs and therefore proposed reducing most fees. At the time, “existing” fees referred to the higher EB-5 fee schedule established in USCIS's 2024 fee rule, which was still in effect when the proposal was published.

In the final rule, however, the agency relied on updated FY 2026/2027 workload and budget projections and reached the opposite conclusion, finding that current fees would generate only about $56.6 million annually against approximately $105 million in projected costs, leaving a funding gap of roughly $48.4 million. DHS said the revised projections, including higher workload forecasts and updated cost estimates, justified significantly higher fees to align revenue with the agency’s anticipated expenses and statutory processing-time goals.

The final rule's sizable projected revenue increase is due in part to a change in the benchmark used by DHS. When the agency published its proposal in October 2025, the higher EB-5 fees adopted in the 2024 USCIS fee rule were still in effect, leading USCIS to conclude that existing fee revenue exceeded projected program costs and to propose lower fees.

Along came Moody. Some of this shift, according to the final rule, is a response to a Colorado federal court's November 2025 decision in Moody v. Noem, which stayed EB-5 fee increases adopted as part of USCIS's broader 2024 fee rule (in other words, the fees applicable when the October 2025 proposal was made). USCIS reverted to the lower previous fee schedule after that ruling and, in this new regulation, relies on a standalone EB-5 fee study authorized by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act to justify a new set of program-specific fees. While DHS maintains the Colorado federal court was wrong, the agency said the final rule was designed to comply with the decision and restore full cost recovery for the EB-5 program.

How do they compare? For investor petitions (I-526, I-829), the fees in this final rulemaking are roughly halfway between the pre-Moody rates and the FY 2022/2023 rates. But for regional center filings (I-956 and I-956F), the final rule lands much closer to the FY 2022/2023 fee levels than to the pre-Moody fees. In many cases, the final fees are higher than those proposed in October 2025, but remain below the EB-5 fees established in the Biden administration's 2024 USCIS fee rule.

Effective date. The final rule takes effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register and applies to petitions and applications postmarked on or after that date. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates the revised fee schedule will affect roughly 16,600 EB-5 filings annually.

Fee changes. Among the most significant changes are increases to investor petition fees. USCIS raised the filing fee for Form I-526, the petition used by standalone investors, from $3,675 to $7,615. Initial Form I-526E petitions filed by regional center investors will increase from $3,675 to $7,850, while amendments to Form I-526E will cost $7,775.

The agency also lowered some fees compared with those initially proposed in 2025 after updating workload forecasts and cost assumptions. So, for example, in the proposed rule, the proposal was for the filing fee for Form I-526 and initial Form I-526E each to be raised from $3,675 to $9,625.

Regional centers and project sponsors will face some of the largest increases. Initial Form I-956 applications for regional center designation will rise from $17,795 to $44,115 (far beyond the proposed $28,895 fee), while Form I-956F applications seeking approval of an investment offering will increase to $42,675 (again, far beyond the proposed $29,935 fee).

By contrast, fees for certain amendment and annual reporting filings were reduced. Form I-956 amendment filings will cost $9,835, down from the current $17,795, and Form I-956G annual statements will decrease from $3,035 to $2,165.

The rule also establishes fees for filings created after enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act. USCIS set a $10,330 fee for new Form I-527, which allows certain pre-2022 investors to amend legacy petitions to preserve eligibility if a regional center is terminated or a project entity is debarred. New fees were also established for Form I-956H, used by individuals involved with regional centers, and Form I-956K, used by direct and third-party promoters.

Justification. DHS said the fee increases stem largely from a gap between projected program costs and anticipated revenue under current fees. Using updated fiscal year 2026 and 2027 workload projections, the agency estimates annual EB-5 program costs of approximately $105 million, compared with just $56.6 million in revenue under the reinstated fee schedule currently in effect. The revised fees are intended to close an estimated $48.4 million annual shortfall.

Technology and Integrity Fund fees. The rule also introduces a revised EB-5 technology fee. Congress authorized USCIS to collect up to one percent of certain EB-5 filing fees to fund improvements to information technology systems. DHS finalized a $75 technology surcharge for Forms I-526 and initial I-526E filings, lower than the $95 surcharge proposed last year after the agency updated its cost calculations.

In addition, DHS is increasing Integrity Fund fees by 10 percent to account for inflation since enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act. The annual fee paid by investors filing Form I-526E will rise from $1,000 to $1,100. Regional centers with 20 or fewer investors will pay $11,000 annually, while larger regional centers will pay $22,000. The Integrity Fund finances fraud prevention, compliance reviews, audits, and related oversight activities.

Penalties. The final rule formally codifies penalties for regional centers that fail to pay the annual Integrity Fund fee. Centers that are more than 30 days late will face a penalty equal to 10 percent of the required fee. Penalties increase to 20 percent after 60 days, and USCIS will terminate a regional center that remains unpaid after 90 days.

Other changes from proposal. The agency notes that it revised several aspects of the proposal in response to public comments. Among other changes, USCIS updated workload projections, revised cost allocations, reduced some proposed fees, and removed termination-related costs from regional center amendment filings. DHS said the updates reflected newer data and stakeholder feedback while preserving the rule’s goal of achieving full cost recovery.

Additional revenue. USCIS estimates the final rule will increase fees across existing EB-5 forms by a weighted average of about 70.7 percent, generating roughly $48.9 million annually in additional revenue. The agency argues those funds will support enhanced fraud detection, audits, site visits, technology improvements, and staffing needed to meet statutory processing-time goals established by Congress.

News: FederalRegulations ImmigrationNews Immigration AgencyNews GCNNews