Now Reading: US more than doubles EB-5 investor visa fees from 30 November 2026
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US more than doubles EB-5 investor visa fees from 30 November 2026
US more than doubles EB-5 investor visa fees from 30 November 2026
The Story in Brief
The US has more than doubled fees for its EB-5 immigrant investor programme, with the main application cost rising sharply from 30 November 2026. USCIS finalised the rule on 29 September. The fee for Form I-526, used by standalone investors, will increase from $3,675 to $7,615. Investors through regional centres will pay $7,850 for Form I-526E plus a $75 technology fee. A new Form I-527 for certain investors to amend older petitions will cost $10,330.
Regional centre designation fees jump from $17,795 to $44,115. USCIS said the revisions implement the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 and cover the full cost of administering the programme, including background checks and fraud detection. The EB-5 programme grants permanent residency to investors who put in $1.05 million, or $800,000 in targeted areas, and create at least 10 full-time jobs for US workers. The Times of India reports that EB-5 filings from India rose from about 75 in fiscal 2022 to nearly 1,900 in fiscal 2025.
Update, 30 September 2026: The Times of India now also reports the fee hike, adding that EB-5 filings from India surged from about 75 in fiscal 2022 to nearly 1,900 in fiscal 2025. The outlet confirms the same fee structure and effective date of 30 November 2026 as previously reported by other sources.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All seven sources report nearly identical dollar figures and dates for the USCIS fee hike, producing remarkably uniform coverage, the kind that follows a press release. Greatandhra.com and Times Now stand out only by including extra fee items such as the regional-centre late-payment penalty and the DHS’s earlier $9,530 proposal, small additions that do not change the neutral-report framing. Every outlet presents the USCIS’s justification that fees must cover programme costs, and none challenges it. The real consequence for Indian readers is not stated by any source: investors now pay thousands more in fees on top of a separate minimum investment requirement and a known visa backlog. USCIS’s next action is already set, the fees become effective on 30 November 2026.
Coverage: 7 sources, 7 neutral
Sources (7): timesnownews.com (neutral report), greatandhra.com (neutral report), ndtv.com (neutral report), rediff.com (neutral report), thehindu.com (neutral report), indiatvnews.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 7 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
