US Doubles Key EB-5 Investor Visa Fees Affecting Indian Applicants

The United States has finalised substantial fee hikes for its EB-5 immigrant-investor programme, more than doubling the filing costs of some petitions. This change is expected to affect Indian nationals seeking permanent residence through investment.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the revised fee schedule on Tuesday, with the new charges coming into effect on November 30.

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

For investors using approved regional centres, the initial Form I-526E filing fee will rise from $3,675 to $7,850.

Both initial I-526 and I-526E petitions will now include a $75 technology fee, and regional-centre investors must also pay an investor integrity fee.

The cost to file Form I-829, which removes conditions on permanent resident status, will increase from $3,750 to $5,000.

Fees for Form I-956, for regional-centre designation, will surge from $17,795 to $44,115, while Form I-956F fees for approval of investments in commercial enterprises will rise to $42,675.

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

The new rule introduces Form I-527, for certain investors amending older I-526 petitions, with a filing fee of $10,330.

The fee schedule was released for public inspection Tuesday and will be formally published soon in the Federal Register.

USCIS stated that these revisions ensure fees fully cover the EB-5 programme's operational costs, assist in meeting processing targets, and support enhanced integrity measures such as audits, compliance reviews, and fraud detection efforts.

Financed primarily through application fees rather than taxpayer funding, USCIS emphasized that applicants must bear the expenses related to application processing and verification.

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 required USCIS to study programme costs and set fees to recover full administrative expenses while expanding oversight of regional centres and investment projects.

The updated rule also increases the EB-5 Integrity Fund annual payments from $10,000 to $11,000 for smaller regional centres and from $20,000 to $22,000 for larger ones, introducing penalties for late payments including potential termination for non-compliance.

Created by Congress in 1990, the EB-5 programme encourages foreign investment and job creation in the US, granting conditional permanent residence to qualifying investors and their families.

Typically, an investment of $800,000 is required in targeted employment or infrastructure projects, or $1.05 million elsewhere. Indian applicants face these government filing fees in addition to substantial capital investments, legal costs, and administrative expenses charged by regional centres.