EB-5 Fees 2026: USCIS Final Fee Schedule Takes Effect November 30

If you hold an H-1B, F-1, or E-2 visa and have been waiting for fee clarity before committing capital, you now have an answer. Whether you like the answer is a separate question.

The Headline Numbers

• Form I-526E (regional center investor petition): rises from $3,675 to $7,850.

• Form I-526 (standalone investor petition): rises from $3,675 to $7,615, including a $75 technology fee.

• Investor Integrity Fund fee: rises from $1,000 to $1,100.

• Combined regional center investor cost: from roughly $4,675 to roughly $8,950, an increase of about $4,275.

• Form I-829 (remove conditions on residence): rises from $3,750 to $5,000.

• Form I-956F (project application): rises from $17,795 to $42,675.

• Form I-956 (initial regional center designation): rises from $17,795 to $44,115.

• Regional center annual Integrity Fund fees: rise to $11,000 or $22,000, depending on the size of the regional center.

What Actually Changes on November 30, 2026

USCIS says the updated EB-5 fee rule is designed around full cost recovery, meaning the agency intends these forms to pay for the staff and systems that process them. That is the stated rationale. The practical effect for a single investor is a filing bill close to double what it was before the rule.

The increase does not stop at the investor petition. It reaches every stage of the regional center pipeline, from the center’s own designation to the project-level application to the later petition that removes conditions on your green card. Regional centers absorb the largest absolute increases, and those costs eventually surface somewhere in the capital stack or in the administrative fee you are quoted. Not always visibly, and not always quickly, but they surface.

Full Fee Comparison: Before and After November 30, 2026

Regional center Integrity Fund obligations rise as well. Annual Integrity Fund fees move to $11,000 or $22,000 depending on the size of the regional center. That is a recurring cost for the center rather than a one-time filing fee, and it is one more line item shaping how centers price their offerings to investors.

Verify every figure against the USCIS fee schedule and the final rule text before you rely on it for a wire or a filing decision. Fee tables get corrected, and the controlling number is the one USCIS publishes.

Why the Final Fees Differ From the October 2025 Proposal

The proposed rule published on October 22, 2025 pointed in the opposite direction. Under that proposal, the volume-weighted average form fee was estimated to decrease by about $2,259, a drop of roughly 14.7 percent. Investors read that as a signal that EB-5 filing costs were heading down. The proposal carried DHS Docket No. USCIS-2025-0139 and went out for public comment.

The final rule does not deliver that. Three things happened in between.

• On November 16, 2025, a federal court halted the steep fee hikes and reinstated pre-April 2024 fee levels, which put the I-526E filing fee back at $3,675.

• DHS then rebuilt its fee study around FY 2026 and FY 2027 cost assumptions, producing a much higher cost base than the October 2025 proposal assumed.

• The final rule set fees well above the proposal, landing closer to the April 2024 levels than to the 2025 proposal.

The lesson is straightforward. A proposed rule is not a final rule, and a court ruling is not a permanent price. Anyone who budgeted off the October 2025 proposal and stopped paying attention is now looking at a materially larger bill.

The Fee History You Need to Keep Straight

1. April 2024: USCIS raised the I-526 and I-526E filing fee by 204 percent, to $11,160. The I-829 fee moved to $9,525, and the I-485 fee was set at $1,440.

2. May 3, 2024: USCIS updated the Form I-526 fee table to add the $1,000 EB-5 Integrity Fund fee, which pushed total government filing fees past the $12,000 mark for a regional center investor.

3. November 16, 2025: a federal court halted the steep increases and restored the lower pre-April 2024 fees, bringing the I-526E back to $3,675.

4. November 30, 2026: the final rule’s new schedule is designed to take effect, with the I-526E at $7,850 and the investor Integrity Fund fee at $1,100.

The $7,850 figure lands below the $11,160 that applied in 2024, but it is more than double the $3,675 that has applied since the court ruling. For most readers here, the second comparison is the one that matters, because $3,675 is the number sitting in your current filing budget.

Investment Minimums Did Not Change

This is a fee rule, not an investment rule. As of 2026, the minimums remain $800,000 for targeted employment area and infrastructure projects and $1,050,000 for standard projects. Regional center administrative fees commonly run in the $50,000 to $80,000 range on top of the investment, and those sit entirely outside anything USCIS charges.

That distinction matters when you build a total budget. A regional center investor filing after the effective date is looking at roughly $8,950 in government filing costs, plus the administrative fee quoted by the center, plus legal and advisory costs, plus the capital itself. The filing increase is real, but it is not the largest number in the room.

What This Means If You Are on an H-1B, F-1, or E-2 Visa

You are likely already in the United States, already paying to maintain status, and already weighing EB-5 against other pathways. A $4,275 jump in filing costs will not make or break a decision that requires an $800,000 or $1,050,000 investment. If a fee increase of that size changes your mind, the investment itself was probably never comfortable.

What it should change is your sequencing. Budget the higher number now rather than planning around a rule that may be delayed, litigated, or amended. If you file before the effective date, confirm with your attorney how USCIS will treat the fee and the receipt date, because the amount that applies generally tracks when the filing is accepted, not when you decide to file.

Do Not Trade Diligence for a Discount

Every time a fee deadline approaches, the market produces urgency. Regional centers advertise, agents push, and investors compress months of project review into weeks to save a few thousand dollars. That trade is almost always bad.

Consider what you are actually risking. Saving roughly $4,275 on filing fees by filing in a hurry means committing $800,000 or $1,050,000 to a project you reviewed under time pressure. EB-5 capital is at risk and repayment is not guaranteed. A project that fails to create the required jobs or return capital costs you far more than any filing fee, and no fee schedule protects you from a weak offering document, an unrealistic job forecast, or a developer with a thin track record.

Government fees are the smallest and most transparent part of an EB-5 budget. Treat the deadline as a scheduling input, not as a reason to skip underwriting, job creation analysis, or a hard look at the exit assumptions.

How to Prepare Before November 30, 2026

1. Pull the current USCIS fee schedule and confirm each amount that applies to your case.

2. Recalculate your total budget using the final fees, not the October 2025 proposal.

3. Ask your regional center whether its administrative fee is affected by the new annual Integrity Fund obligations at the center level.

4. Confirm with your immigration attorney which date controls the fee for your filing and how the receipt date is determined.

5. Continue project diligence at full depth regardless of which side of the deadline you land on.

Then decide on the merits. If the project holds up and the timing works, file. If the project does not hold up, the fee savings are irrelevant.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do the new EB-5 fees take effect?

USCIS says the updated EB-5 fee rule is designed to take effect on November 30, 2026. Before that date, the lower fee levels restored by the November 2025 federal court ruling apply, including the $3,675 I-526E filing fee. After the effective date, the final rule’s schedule governs. Confirm the current status with USCIS before filing, since litigation and administrative delays can shift effective dates.

How much more will a regional center investor pay in filing fees?

The regional center investor petition and the investor Integrity Fund assessment rise together from roughly $4,675 to roughly $8,950. That is an increase of about $4,275, before you account for the later I-829 fee, which moves from $3,750 to $5,000. Your exact total depends on which forms apply to your case and when your filings are accepted.

Did the I-526E fee really double?

Yes. The I-526E filing fee moves from $3,675 to $7,850 under the final rule. It still sits below the $11,160 that applied in 2024 before the federal court ruling restored the lower pre-April 2024 levels. The standalone I-526 fee rises from $3,675 to $7,615, a figure that includes a $75 technology fee.

What is the EB-5 Integrity Fund fee?

It is an assessment collected to fund the EB-5 Integrity Fund, which supports fraud detection and oversight of the program. For investors, the fee rises from $1,000 to $1,100 under the final rule. Regional centers pay separately on an annual basis, with those Integrity Fund fees moving to $11,000 or $22,000 depending on the size of the center.

Should I file early to lock in the lower fee?

That depends on your project and your attorney’s advice, not on the fee alone. Fees generally apply based on when USCIS accepts the filing, so an earlier, complete petition may fall under the current schedule. Filing a rushed or incomplete petition to save money is a poor trade. Get the diligence right first, then decide on timing.

Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal, immigration, tax, or investment advice, and it is not an offer or solicitation to buy any security. EB-5 capital is at risk and repayment is not guaranteed. Fee amounts, effective dates, and filing procedures can change, and USCIS publishes the controlling schedule. Confirm current figures with USCIS and with your own immigration attorney before you file or transfer funds.