EB-5 Fees More Than Double on November 30: Why Filing Early Matters
The bottom line for investors: the Department of Homeland Security has issued a final rule resetting EB-5 filing fees, and USCIS states the new fees are scheduled to take effect on November 30, 2026.1 Under the rule, any EB-5 petition or application postmarked on or after the effective date must be filed with the new fee.2 For a regional center investor, the Form I-526E filing fee rises from $3,675 to $7,850, and the Form I-829 fee for removing conditions rises from $3,750 to $5,000.
This is not a proposal. The rule finalizes a fee rule DHS proposed in October 2025,3 and DHS adjusted several amounts from that proposal after public comment — the I-526E and I-829 fees in the final rule are lower than what was originally proposed, but still well above today's levels.2
The New Fee Schedule at a Glance
| FORM / FEE | CURRENT | FROM NOV. 30 | CHANGE |
| I-526E, Regional Center Investor Petition (initial) | $3,675 | $7,850 | +$4,175 (114%) |
| I-526E, Regional Center Investor Petition (amendment) | $3,675 | $7,775 | +$4,100 (112%) |
| I-526, Standalone Investor Petition | $3,675 | $7,615 | +$3,940 (107%) |
| I-829, Petition to Remove Conditions | $3,750 | $5,000 | +$1,250 (33%) |
| I-527, Amendment to Legacy Form I-526 (new form) | — | $10,330 | New |
| I-526E EB-5 Integrity Fund fee | $1,000 | $1,100 | +$100 (10%) |
| I-956, Regional Center Designation (initial) | $17,795 | $44,115 | +$26,320 (148%) |
| I-956F, Approval of Investment in a Commercial Enterprise | $17,795 | $42,675 | +$24,880 (140%) |
| I-956G, Regional Center Annual Statement | $3,035 | $2,165 | −$870 (−29%) |
Why Today's EB-5 Fees Are Lower Than Many Investors Expect
The "current" fees shown above are the pre-2024 EB-5 fees. After a federal court in Moody v. Noem stayed certain EB-5 fees that DHS had adopted in its FY 2022/2023 fee rule, USCIS reverted in November 2025 to accepting the EB-5 fees that had been in effect until March 31, 2024.2 The new rule replaces those reinstated fees with amounts DHS set under the fee authority in the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.
What Changes for Investors in Practice
- I-526E petitions not yet filed: an investor whose petition is complete and postmarked before the effective date ordinarily pays the current $3,675 fee (plus the $1,000 Integrity Fund fee); a petition postmarked on or after the effective date generally must include $7,850 (plus the $1,100 Integrity Fund fee).
- Do not file an incomplete petition to beat the deadline. A filing that USCIS rejects is generally treated as never filed, so a corrected re-filing after November 30 would ordinarily owe the new fee.
- Conditional residents approaching I-829: the fee for removing conditions rises by $1,250. Investors whose filing window opens before November 30 may want to confirm the earliest date they are eligible to file.
- Project costs: the regional center and project-level fees (Forms I-956 and I-956F) roughly double or more. These are paid by regional centers and project sponsors, but investors should ask sponsors whether any of those costs will be passed through in offering terms.
What Investors and Families Should Do Now
- If an I-526E filing is already in preparation, ask counsel whether the petition can be completed and postmarked well before November 30, leaving time for courier or postal delays.
- Confirm the correct fee on the USCIS fee calculator and Form G-1055 immediately before filing — fee amounts and effective dates should be checked against USCIS, not third-party summaries.
- Conditional permanent residents should calendar the 90-day I-829 filing window and budget for the higher fee if the window opens after November 30.
- Investors reviewing new offerings should ask the regional center how the higher I-956 and I-956F fees affect administrative fees or offering costs.
The Real Deadline Is the Preparation, Not the Postmark
The constraint for most investors is not the filing itself but the work behind it. An I-526E petition must trace the lawful source and path of the investment funds, and for many investors — particularly those whose capital comes from business income, the sale of property, or family gifts in China — assembling, translating and reconciling that record can take several weeks or longer. Filing earlier also establishes an earlier priority date, which may matter for China-born investors in the unreserved category if visa availability tightens in future bulletins.
For investors who have been weighing EB-5, the weeks before November 30 are the time to have the fund-source plan and project selection reviewed by experienced counsel — so that a complete petition can be filed at the current fee, rather than rushed, rejected, or filed after the increase. Whether that timeline is realistic depends on how the funds were earned and moved, which is exactly the question worth answering now.
This newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Attorney advertising. © The Peng Law Group.