EB-5 Investor Green Card: Rules, Amounts, and 2026 Deadlines

You qualify if you:

1. Invest the required amount in a new commercial enterprise in the US: $1,050,000, or $800,000 if the project is in a targeted employment area (TEA) or is an infrastructure project, as of September 2026. A TEA is a rural area or an area with unemployment of at least 150% of the national average.
2. Put the money at risk. A guaranteed return or a promise to buy back your stake is not allowed.
3. Prove a lawful source for every dollar, including gifts and loans.
4. Create at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying US workers. In a regional center project, jobs created indirectly (for example by suppliers) can count.

The Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 set these amounts and requires an inflation adjustment on January 1, 2027. If you are close to deciding, check the new amounts before you invest.

Most EB-5 investors use regional centers. Because regional center projects are pooled investments, do your own due diligence on the project, the developer, and the fees. The Securities and Exchange Commission has brought fraud cases against EB-5 projects in the past.

The 2022 law protects regional center investors whose petitions are filed on or before September 30, 2026. If the regional center program later lapses, those petitions can still be processed. Petitions filed after that date do not get that protection, even though the program itself is authorized until September 30, 2027.

See EB-5 grandfathering deadline for the details and what happens after the date.

EB-5 gets 7.1% of employment-based green cards, about 10,000 a year. The 2022 law reserves part of them:

The unreserved category has long backlogs for investors born in China and India, because demand far exceeds the 7% per-country cap. The set-aside categories have generally moved faster, which is why many investors choose rural projects, but heavy demand can create waits there too. Investors from most other countries, including Mexico and the Philippines, have usually had shorter waits. Your priority date is the date USCIS receives your petition. Check the Visa Bulletin and our Visa Bulletin tracker.

If you are in the US and a visa number is available to you (based on the Visa Bulletin chart USCIS is using that month), the 2022 law lets you file Form I-485 at the same time as your I-526 or I-526E, and apply for a work permit and travel document while you wait. Otherwise you finish through consular processing abroad.

The 2026 adjustment of status memo. On May 21, 2026, USCIS issued a policy memo (PM-602-0199) that treats adjustment of status as a discretionary benefit. USCIS said that people who are in the US on a temporary visa and want a green card should expect to apply from their home country, except in extraordinary circumstances. The memo applies to pending and new Form I-485 filings. Meeting the legal requirements is now treated as the minimum: officers weigh your whole record, including whether you used your visa for its stated purpose. Legal challenges were expected, so check the current position before you file.

The 2026 interview freeze. Since August 25, 2026, the State Department has paused scheduling of immigrant visa interviews worldwide while consular officers train on public charge screening. No restart date had been announced as of September 22, 2026. Track it on our immigrant visa pause page.

Travel ban. Nationals of the 39 countries covered by the travel ban (Proclamation 10998, in effect since January 1, 2026) generally cannot receive immigrant visas abroad, and USCIS has held many pending applications from those countries for extra review.

Public charge. A new public charge rule took effect on September 18, 2026. It replaces the 2022 rule with a broader "totality of the circumstances" test of whether you are likely to rely on government support.

Your first EB-5 green card is conditional and lasts 2 years. In the 90 days before it expires, you file Form I-829 to show that you kept your investment at risk and that the jobs were created. If USCIS approves, you get a 10-year green card. If you miss the window or cannot show the jobs, you can lose status. See removing conditions.

Yes. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 get conditional green cards with you, with no extra investment. Each files their own I-485 or DS-260, and they are included in your I-829 or file their own. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) can protect children who turn 21 during a long wait, but it does not always work in backlogged categories. If a child is close to 21, speak to a licensed immigration lawyer before you invest, because the timing of your filing can matter.

Besides the investment, government fees as of September 2026 (USCIS fee schedule):

Regional centers also charge administrative fees, often tens of thousands of dollars, and you will pay lawyers, source-of-funds tracing, and translations. Confirm fees on the USCIS fee calculator.