US EB-5 fees jump: What it means for Indians seeking Green Cards through investment

For Indians looking to secure US permanent residency through investment, the EB-5 route is set to become significantly more expensive. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has finalised a fee rule that will sharply increase several charges associated with the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Programme, with the changes taking effect from November 30.

The fee increase comes at a significant time for Indian applicants. Demand for EB-5 visas has grown, and India has already faced limits on the number of EB-5 unreserved visas available during the current fiscal year.

EB-5 fees to rise sharply

Under the new fee structure, the filing fee for Form I-526, used by standalone EB-5 investors, will rise from $3,675 to $7,615.

For investors applying through an approved regional centre, the initial Form I-526E fee will increase from $3,675 to $7,850. Both I-526 and I-526E petitions will also attract a $75 technology fee.

The Form I-829 fee, which investors use to seek removal of conditions on their permanent resident status, will rise from $3,750 to $5,000.

The increases are considerably steeper for regional centres. The fee for Form I-956, used to apply for regional-centre designation, will rise from $17,795 to $44,115, while the fee for Form I-956F, relating to approval of an investment in a commercial enterprise, will increase from $17,795 to $42,675.

At the same time, the annual Form I-956G fee will fall from $3,035 to $2,165. A new Form I-527, for certain investors seeking to amend older I-526 petitions, will carry a $10,330 filing fee.

USCIS has said the agency is largely funded through the fees it charges users. The fees cover activities including application reviews, background checks, eligibility verification, fraud detection and programme administration.

What is the US EB-5 programme?

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Programme is a US immigration programme that allows eligible foreign investors to seek lawful permanent residence (a Green Card) by investing in a qualifying US commercial enterprise and helping create jobs for American workers.

Under the current rules:

Investment: Generally, an investor must invest $1.05 million in a qualifying commercial enterprise, or $800,000 if the investment is in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or certain qualifying infrastructure projects.

Job creation: The investment must result in the creation of at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying US workers.

Regional centres: Investors can invest through USCIS-designated regional centres, which pool capital for projects and can count certain indirect jobs toward the requirement.

Source of funds: Applicants must demonstrate that the investment capital came from a lawful source and provide documentation tracing the funds.

Family: An approved EB-5 investor can generally include their spouse and unmarried children under 21 as derivative beneficiaries.

Path to permanent residence: EB-5 initially provides a route to conditional permanent residence, with the conditions subsequently removed if the programme's requirements are met.

In simple terms: EB-5 is essentially a “investment-for-immigration” route: a foreign national puts qualifying capital into a US business/project, the investment supports the required employment creation, and the investor can seek a Green Card.

Why the change matters for Indian applicants

The fee increase adds another cost to an immigration route that already requires substantial capital. For an Indian family considering EB-5, the total financial commitment can include the qualifying investment, USCIS filing fees and other expenses associated with the investment project and immigration process.

The timing is particularly relevant because Indian applicants have faced increasing demand for EB-5 visas.

In June 2026, the State Department announced that the FY2026 per-country limit for EB-5 unreserved visas for India had been reached. It said consulates could not issue additional visas in those categories for the remainder of FY2026, with annual limits resetting on October 1.

That means paying the higher application fee should not be viewed as a guarantee of an immediately available Green Card. Visa availability remains subject to statutory limits, demand and the applicant's priority date.

The fee hike changes the cost of applying, not the core EB-5 investment rules. Applicants will still need to satisfy the applicable investment, job-creation and source-of-funds requirements.

For Indian families, the immediate impact is therefore a higher government filing bill at a time when visa availability has also become an important consideration.