EB-5 Grandfathering Deadline: September 30, 2026

The EB-5 program has two routes. Direct investment (Form I-526) is a permanent part of the law. The regional center route (Form I-526E), used by most investors, must be reauthorized by Congress from time to time. When it lapsed in 2021, pending regional center cases were frozen for months.

The 2022 law added a safeguard: petitions filed on or before September 30, 2026 will continue to be processed, through the investor's green card and the later petition to remove conditions (Form I-829), under the rules in effect when they were filed, even if the program lapses or Congress changes the rules.

What grandfathering does not do:

• It does not guarantee approval; you still must prove lawful source of funds, an at-risk investment, and job creation.
• It does not shorten waits caused by visa backlogs, for example for investors born in China or India. See priority dates.
• It does not lock in a lower investment amount beyond what applies on your filing date.

• Investors can still file Form I-526E until the program's authorization ends on September 30, 2027.
• But if Congress does not extend the program by then, USCIS would not be required to keep processing petitions filed after September 30, 2026.
• Investment amounts are scheduled to rise with inflation on January 1, 2027, so later filers may need to invest more.

Congress could extend or change these dates. As of September 22, 2026, we had not seen any law extending the grandfathering deadline.

With days left, only petitions that are complete and received by USCIS by September 30, 2026 qualify.

1. Do not rush an incomplete filing. USCIS rejects petitions with the wrong fee, missing signatures, or old form editions, and a rejected petition does not keep the filing date.
2. Use the current fee. The USCIS fee schedule dated September 9, 2026 lists $3,675 for Form I-526 or I-526E, plus a separate $1,000 EB-5 integrity fee for initial I-526E petitions. Confirm on the USCIS fee schedule before paying.
3. Choose delivery that proves receipt, such as a trackable courier to the correct USCIS lockbox.
4. Do independent due diligence on the project and regional center, including audited financials and fee structures.
5. Work with an experienced EB-5 lawyer and, for the investment itself, a securities professional.

If you miss the deadline, you can still invest, but plan for the program's 2027 authorization date. Some investors also compare the Gold Card or the E-2 visa; see E-2 vs EB-5 vs Gold Card.