US to double EB-5 visa fees from November 30: What it means for Indian investors seeking green card

Indian investors seeking a US Green Card through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program will have to pay higher USCIS fees from November 30, 2026, after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finalised a new fee rule.

The EB-5 programme provides a pathway to permanent residency, or a Green Card, for qualifying foreign investors and their eligible family members. Investors must make a qualifying investment in a US commercial enterprise and create at least 10 full-time jobs.

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For regional-centre investors, the Form I-526E filing fee will rise from $3,675 to $7,850, an increase of $4,175 or 114%. With the separate EB-5 Integrity Fund fee, the total payable for the two charges will rise from $4,675 to $8,950.

EB-5 fees: What changes from November 30?

EB-5 fee	Current fee	New fee from Nov 30, 2026	% Increase
Form I-526E – Regional Centre investor	$3,675	$7,850	114%
I-526E Integrity Fund fee	$1,000	$1,100	10%
I-526E + Integrity Fund fee	$4,675	$8,950	91%
Form I-526 – Standalone investor	$3,675	$7,615	107%
Form I-829 – Removal of conditions	$3,750	$5,000	33%

The revised fees will apply to applications, petitions and requests postmarked on or after November 30, 2026. The revised fees also apply to Indian applicants, and USCIS does not prescribe a separate EB-5 fee for Indian nationals.

How much will investors pay?

A new regional-centre investor will pay $8,950 in USCIS fees for the I-526E petition and Integrity Fund fee from November 30, 2026, compared with $4,675 currently.

For investors using the standalone route, the Form I-526 fee will increase from $3,675 to $7,615, a 107% rise. USCIS says the new I-526 amount includes the EB-5 technology fee.

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The fee increase also affects investors later in the process. The Form I-829 fee, used to remove conditions on permanent resident status, will rise from $3,750 to $5,000, an increase of about 33%.

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 requires USCIS to set programme fees at a level that covers the cost of administering the programme.

USCIS said the revised fees are intended to bring the charges closer to the cost of running the programme and support measures such as application processing, background checks, compliance reviews, audits and site visits.

Investors who have already filed their EB-5 petitions before November 30 will not have to pay the new I-526 or I-526E fee simply because their cases remain pending.

However, applications, petitions or requests filed on or after November 30 will be subject to the revised fees.

Why EB-5 is important for Indian H-1B holders?

EB-5 is also a route considered by some Indian H-1B visa holders seeking permanent residence in the US.

Indian professionals in the EB-2 and EB-3 Green Card categories can face long waits because of country-specific visa limits and high demand from applicants from India. EB-5 provides a separate employment-based route based on qualifying investment and job creation.

For H-1B holders, this makes EB-5 another route to consider alongside employer-sponsored Green Card categories, although it requires a substantial qualifying investment and compliance with the programme's requirements.

What this means for Indian investors

The higher USCIS fees are separate from the money an investor must commit to an EB-5 project.

The fee rule does not change the statutory EB-5 investment amount. Under current rules, investors generally need to invest $1.05 million, or $800,000 in a targeted employment area or qualifying infrastructure project, and create at least 10 full-time jobs.

EB-5 is a pathway to permanent residency rather than an automatic Green Card. Successful investors initially receive conditional permanent resident status, with the conditions later removed if they meet the programme requirements.

For a regional-centre investor, the key change is the rise in the I-526E fee from $3,675 to $7,850. With the Integrity Fund fee, the amount payable for those two charges will be $8,950 from November 30.

The fee increase raises the USCIS cost of applying through EB-5, but does not change the statutory investment amount or create a separate fee for Indian applicants.

Regional-centre fees also change

The fee changes also affect regional centres directly. The initial Form I-956 application for regional-centre designation will rise from $17,795 to $44,115, while the Form I-956F fee will increase from $17,795 to $42,675.

Some regional-centre fees will decrease. The fee for an I-956 amendment will fall from $17,795 to $9,835, while the annual I-956G fee will drop from $3,035 to $2,165.

These charges are paid by regional centres and are separate from the fees paid by individual EB-5 investors.