The United States has finalised a major increase in fees for its EB-5 immigrant-investor programme, with the cost of several key petitions more than doubling. The revised charges are set to take effect from November 30 and are expected to increase the financial burden on Indian investors pursuing US permanent residence through the programme.
Under the new fee structure announced by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the filing fee for Form I-526, used by standalone EB-5 investors, will rise from $3,675 to $7,615. The fee for Form I-526E, used by investors participating through an approved regional centre, will increase from $3,675 to $7,850.
Initial I-526 and I-526E petitions will also carry a $75 technology fee. Regional-centre investors will additionally be subject to the programme’s investor integrity fee.
The fee for Form I-829, which investors use to seek removal of conditions on their permanent resident status, will rise from $3,750 to $5,000.
The largest increases will affect EB-5 regional centres. The fee for an initial Form I-956 application for regional-centre designation will climb from $17,795 to $44,115. The charge for Form I-956F, which is used to seek approval of an investment in a commercial enterprise, will be set at $42,675.
Not all fees are increasing. The annual fee associated with Form I-956G will decline from $3,035 to $2,165.
The final rule also introduces Form I-527 for certain investors seeking to amend older Form I-526 petitions. The new filing will carry a fee of $10,330.
USCIS said the revised fee structure is intended to ensure that fees cover the cost of administering the EB-5 programme, support statutory processing targets and provide resources for stronger programme oversight.
The agency is expected to use the additional resources for measures including audits, compliance reviews, site visits and efforts to identify fraud and abuse. USCIS has said that, because the agency is largely financed through application and petition fees, applicants and other programme participants must bear the costs associated with processing, eligibility verification, background checks and programme administration.
The fee changes follow requirements under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. The legislation directed USCIS to assess the cost of administering the programme and establish fees sufficient to recover those expenses. It also strengthened oversight of regional centres, investment projects and promoters while establishing processing goals for the programme.
The annual EB-5 Integrity Fund contribution will also increase. Regional centres with 20 or fewer investors will see the payment rise from $10,000 to $11,000, while those with more than 20 investors will pay $22,000 instead of $20,000.
The new rules also introduce penalties for late Integrity Fund payments. A payment made in November after the applicable deadline can attract a 10 per cent penalty, while the penalty can rise to 20 per cent for payments made in December. Continued non-payment could ultimately result in termination of a regional centre.
For Indian investors, the higher government filing charges represent an additional expense on top of the capital required for an EB-5 investment, legal costs and administrative charges imposed by individual regional-centre projects.
The EB-5 programme generally requires an investment of $800,000 in a targeted employment area or qualifying infrastructure project, or $1.05 million in other qualifying investments. Applicants must also satisfy the programme’s employment-creation requirements.
