The filing fee for Form I-526, the standard application for standalone investors, will jump from 3,675 dollars to 7,615 dollars. Those participating through approved regional centers face similar increases, with Form I-526E petitions rising to 7,850 dollars. Beyond these baseline costs, applicants must now account for a mandatory 75-dollar technology fee attached to initial filings.
Financial burdens for regional centers will see the most aggressive adjustments. The initial application fee for regional center designation, Form I-956, will climb from 17,795 dollars to 44,115 dollars, while Form I-956F, required for investment approval, will surge to 42,675 dollars. USCIS maintains that these hikes are necessary as the agency operates primarily on fee-based revenue rather than taxpayer funding, citing the expenses of fraud detection and eligibility verification as primary drivers for the change.
Despite the higher barrier to entry, the EB-5 program remains a primary path for foreign nationals to secure a Green Card. Investors must commit at least 800,000 dollars to targeted employment areas or 1.05 million dollars in qualifying commercial enterprises, while also demonstrating the creation of 10 full-time jobs for American workers. With demand from nations like India hitting record highs, the program continues to grapple with significant backlogs, even as the cost of participation reaches new peaks.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first!