EB-5 Visa Cost 2026: The Full Breakdown of Investment and Fees

How much does the EB-5 visa cost in 2026?

The EB-5 visa cost in 2026 starts with a minimum investment of USD 800,000 or USD 1,050,000, depending on where the money is invested. According to USCIS, a petition filed on or after 15 March 2022 requires USD 1,050,000 as the standard amount, or USD 800,000 if the new commercial enterprise is in a Targeted Employment Area or is an infrastructure project (source: USCIS, About the EB-5 Visa Classification).

The investment is not a fee. It is capital placed in a US business that must create at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying US workers. Around it sit four further cost layers:

• USCIS and Department of State fees for the petition, the green card application and the removal of conditions;
• legal fees of the independent licensed US immigration attorney who prepares and files your petition;
• regional-centre administrative fees, if you invest through a regional centre;
• personal costs, such as the immigrant medical examination, document translations, source-of-funds evidence and travel.

Because the last three layers vary by case, Mirabello Consultancy does not publish an "all-in" EB-5 price. What we can publish precisely is the investment and the government fees, set out in the table below. The full legal reference for the programme, from eligibility to the green card, is on our EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program page.

What is the difference between TEA and non-TEA investment?

A TEA investment requires USD 800,000 and a non-TEA investment requires USD 1,050,000; the legal requirements are otherwise the same. The lower amount exists to direct capital to areas that need jobs. USCIS defines two kinds of Targeted Employment Area:

• Rural area: any area outside a metropolitan statistical area and outside the outer boundary of any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more, based on the most recent decennial census.
• High-unemployment area: an area with unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate.

Infrastructure projects also qualify for the USD 800,000 level. The difference between the two amounts, USD 250,000, is significant, but it is not the only point. Since the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, 20 percent of the annual EB-5 visas are reserved for rural investments, 10 percent for high-unemployment areas and 2 percent for infrastructure projects. These reserved categories sit outside the unreserved pool, so for applicants born in high-demand countries the choice of category can affect waiting time as well as cost (source: USCIS, EB-5 Questions and Answers).

Will the minimum investment change in 2027?

Yes, the law provides for it. The statute adjusts the minimum investment amounts for inflation, measured by the CPI-U index, for petitions filed on or after 1 January 2027. At our last check the new amounts had not yet been published. The figures in this article apply to petitions filed until then, and we confirm the amount in force on your filing date before you commit.

What are the USCIS fees for EB-5 in 2026?

The USCIS fees for EB-5 depend on the form, the route and the filing date, because a new EB-5 fee rule takes effect on 30 November 2026. The current fees come from USCIS Form G-1055, edition dated 7 October 2026 (USCIS Fee Schedule G-1055). The new fees come from the EB-5 fee final rule, 91 FR 61940, published on 30 September 2026 (Federal Register). Filings postmarked or submitted up to and including 29 November 2026 pay the current fees.

Two practical points follow from the table. First, the new I-526E and integrity fees together come close to double the current amounts, so the filing date matters to your budget, but it should never push you to file before your source-of-funds evidence and due diligence are complete. Second, the government fees are not a single figure for every family: they depend on the route, the number of people, the filing date and whether you adjust status in the US or apply for an immigrant visa abroad. The fees for other forms can also change; your attorney checks the G-1055 edition in force on the day of filing.

What is the EB-5 integrity fee?

The EB-5 integrity fee is a separate charge on an initial Form I-526E, required by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022: USD 1,000 for filings up to 29 November 2026 and USD 1,100 from 30 November 2026. It applies only to the regional-centre route; a standalone petition on Form I-526 does not carry it. It is different from the annual integrity-fund fee that regional centres themselves pay to USCIS, which is the regional centre's cost, not a line on your petition.

What do regional-centre and legal fees cost?

Regional-centre administrative fees and attorney fees have no official amount, so any figure you read is a market estimate rather than a rule. That is why we describe them by what they cover, not by a number.

Regional-centre administrative fees

A regional centre is an entity designated by USCIS that sponsors EB-5 projects and files Form I-956F for each one. If you invest through a regional centre, its offering documents set any administrative or syndication fee, separately from the USD 800,000 or USD 1,050,000 capital. Read these documents with your own independent legal and financial advisers: they also set out the investment structure, the exit terms and the risks. Mirabello Consultancy does not name, rate, sell or recommend any regional centre, project or offering, and is not a broker-dealer. Our role is to help you understand the questions to ask.

The regional-centre programme is authorised by statute through 30 September 2027 (8 USC 1153(b)(5)(E)). Standalone petitions are not tied to that authorisation. Your attorney explains how the statutory rules apply to your route and filing date.

Legal fees and advisory fees

An independent licensed US immigration attorney prepares and files your EB-5 petition. EB-5 is a self-petition: you file the petition yourself, through your attorney, and no US employer is involved. The attorney's fee is set in the engagement agreement and depends on the route, the family and, above all, on how complex your source-of-funds evidence is. Mirabello Consultancy advises you and coordinates the case with the attorney and your tax advisers; our advisory fee is agreed with you separately, apart from the investment and the attorney's fee.

If you want an honest first estimate of the costs that apply to your own family, book a free consultation with our team: we go through each line of the table with you.

Does one EB-5 investment cover the whole family?

Yes. One qualifying investment covers the investor, the spouse and unmarried children under 21, who are included as derivative beneficiaries. You do not invest USD 800,000 per person. If approved, each family member receives a conditional green card, and later a 10-year green card once the conditions are removed.

Some government fees, however, are paid per person. Each family member adjusting status in the US files a Form I-485. Each person immigrating from abroad applies for an immigrant visa, and the USD 235 USCIS Immigrant Fee applies per immigrating person. Each family member also has an immigrant medical examination. Children must be unmarried and under 21 to be included; the Child Status Protection Act may protect some children who turn 21 during processing, and your attorney checks how it applies to your children's dates of birth.

A spouse does not receive work authorisation automatically. While a Form I-485 is pending in the US, the spouse may apply for an Employment Authorization Document on Form I-765; once the green card is granted, the spouse may work without restriction.

Do I get my EB-5 investment back?

You may get your capital back, but EB-5 law does not allow it to be promised. USCIS requires the capital to be at risk for the purpose of generating a return, which means there is no assured repayment and no assured profit. Whether, when and how much you recover depends on the performance of the business or project and on the exit terms in its documents. Losses are possible.

The capital must remain at risk for the period required by law and USCIS policy, including through the two-year conditional residence, because USCIS reviews at the Form I-829 stage whether the investment was sustained and the jobs were created. There is no published fixed total holding period, so any exit timeline you see in an offering is that offering's own term, not a rule of EB-5 law.

Be careful with any presentation that promises a fixed return or a fixed repayment date. A structure that removes the risk can also remove the eligibility, because capital that is not at risk does not meet the EB-5 requirement. Independent legal and financial due diligence is essential before you invest.

Regional centre or standalone: which route costs more?

The minimum investment is the same on both routes: USD 800,000 in a TEA or infrastructure project, USD 1,050,000 elsewhere. The routes differ in their fees and in how jobs are counted.

• Regional-centre route (Form I-526E): pooled investment through a USCIS-designated regional centre. Direct, indirect and induced jobs may count, within the limits set by the law. The integrity fee and any administrative fee in the offering documents apply.
• Standalone route (Form I-526): you establish or invest in a new commercial enterprise and are involved in it. Only the direct, full-time employees of that enterprise count towards the ten jobs. No integrity fee applies, but you carry the work and the cost of building and running the business.

Neither route costs less in every case. A standalone investment avoids offering fees but must create ten direct jobs on its own; a regional-centre investment shares the job-creation work, but its terms are set by the offering. Since 30 March 2026, USCIS has generally assigned Forms I-526 and I-526E in filing order, first in, first out.

How long does the process take, and does time add cost?

EB-5 timing varies by category, country of birth and filing date, and USCIS publishes its own processing times, which change regularly. Applicants born in countries with high demand, historically mainland China, India and Vietnam, can face multi-year waits for a visa number in the unreserved category because of per-country limits. The US Department of State Visa Bulletin shows each month whether a visa number is available. We read both sources on the day we advise you rather than quote a fixed timeline.

Time matters to cost in two ways. Your capital stays committed for longer, and your family may live abroad or in another US status while the case is pending. If you are already in the US in a lawful status and a visa would be immediately available, you may be able to file Form I-485 together with the petition and apply for work and travel authorisation while it is pending.

What costs come after the green card?

After the conditional green card, the main costs are the Form I-829 fee, US taxes and, later, the naturalisation fee.

• Form I-829: filed in the 90 days before the second anniversary of conditional residence, at USD 3,750 under the current fees or USD 5,000 for filings from 30 November 2026.
• US tax residence: green-card holders are US tax residents, and the IRS states that their worldwide income is subject to US tax (IRS, Taxation of US residents). Plan this before you move with a qualified tax adviser; our guide to US taxes after moving from Germany, Switzerland or Austria explains the main points for DACH families.
• Naturalisation: after five years of permanent residence, with the conditional years counting, you may apply for US citizenship on Form N-400, at USD 760 on paper or USD 710 online. Whether you can keep your current nationality depends on your home country's law; our guide on how Germans get US citizenship covers the German case, and other nationalities follow their own law, some of which removes the original nationality automatically on naturalisation abroad.

Is EB-5 worth the cost, and what are the alternatives?

EB-5 is worth its cost for families who want US permanent residence without an employer or a treaty nationality, who can commit USD 800,000 or more at risk, and who accept US worldwide taxation. It is open to nationals of all countries, it has no language, education or management-experience requirement for the investor, and it covers the whole family with one investment.

It is not the only US route. Nationals of treaty countries, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland, can use the E-2 Treaty Investor visa, which has no fixed minimum investment but is a temporary visa with no green card of its own; our article on E-2 to green card options shows how the two can connect, and our EB-5 versus E-2 comparison sets them side by side. Founders and professionals with an outstanding record may qualify for a green card without an investment through the EB-1A or the EB-2 National Interest Waiver. Our USA immigration hub compares every route, and if your goal is residence rather than the United States specifically, our golden visa comparison covers programmes elsewhere.