Introduction
Four years after Congress enacted sweeping changes to the EB-5 Investor Program, the federal government has taken a major step toward converting those statutory reforms into operational regulations. On July 2, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register to implement the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 — the most significant overhaul of the investor visa program since its creation in 1990. For foreign nationals considering an EB-5 investment, regional centers, and the attorneys who advise them, this proposed EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act rulemaking is the document that will ultimately define the rules of the road. The public comment period closes August 31, 2026, making now the critical window to understand what is being proposed and what it means in practice.
Background
The EB-5 Program and Its Long Path to Reform
The EB-5 visa category was created by the Immigration Act of 1990. It offers permanent residence to foreign nationals who invest a qualifying amount of capital in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least ten full-time jobs for U.S. workers. The Regional Center Program was added in 1992 as a companion structure. It has since become the dominant pathway, accounting for over 90 percent of EB-5 investment and nearly 95 percent of jobs attributed to the program.
For most of the Regional Center Program’s existence, it operated under a temporary congressional authorization that expired repeatedly and was renewed through short-term extensions. That authorization lapsed entirely in June 2021, creating uncertainty for investors and regional centers alike. On March 15, 2022, Congress permanently reauthorized the program as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. It also enacted the Reform and Integrity Act — known as the RIA — which made sweeping structural changes to how the program operates.
USCIS implemented many of the RIA’s self-executing provisions immediately using new forms and interim guidance, but a comprehensive regulatory framework reflecting the full scope of the law was never put in place. This proposed rule is intended to fill that gap. It would create a new Subpart D within 8 CFR Part 204 to govern all EB-5 petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022, while leaving earlier petitions under the pre-existing regulatory framework.
What Is Changing
The Proposed Rule’s Major Provisions
DHS is proposing changes across nearly every dimension of the EB-5 program. Several provisions stand out as particularly significant.
Investment amounts and high employment area thresholds.
The RIA raised the standard minimum investment from $1 million to $1,050,000 and the reduced threshold for targeted employment areas and infrastructure projects from $500,000 to $800,000. The proposed rule codifies these amounts and adds a new category: for investments in high employment areas — defined as metropolitan areas with unemployment significantly below the national average — DHS proposes a higher investment requirement of $1,400,000. All three thresholds would adjust automatically every five years beginning January 1, 2027, based on the Consumer Price Index.
Targeted employment area designation.
The RIA transferred authority to designate high unemployment areas exclusively to DHS, removing the role previously played by state governments. Under the proposed rule, USCIS would make that determination during adjudication of a project application or standalone investor petition, based on census-tract-level unemployment data meeting specific methodological standards. The “Census Share Methodology” — a combination of federal and state unemployment data previously accepted by USCIS — would no longer qualify.
Regional center program mechanics.
The proposal codifies the project application process introduced by the RIA, under which regional centers must obtain approval of a specific investment offering before any investor may file a petition based on it. It establishes detailed requirements for annual statements, promoter registration, bona fide assessments of persons involved, separate accounts, fund administrators, and mandatory audits on a five-year cycle.
Troubled businesses eliminated; bridge financing under scrutiny.
The proposed rule would remove the troubled business pathway — which allowed investors to claim credit for preserving existing jobs rather than creating new ones — from the regulations prospectively. It also proposes eliminating the use of bridge financing repaid with EB-5 capital as a basis for claiming job creation, citing a statutory shift in the RIA’s language requiring investment to benefit the economy “by” creating jobs, not merely “and” creating them. DHS simultaneously solicits public comment on whether to retain a limited version of bridge financing with defined maturity dates and percentage caps.
National security and fraud enforcement.
The proposed rule implements two new statutory authorities — sections 203(b)(5)(N) and (O) of the INA — allowing DHS to deny or revoke petitions and debar participants based on threats to public safety or national security, or based on fraud, deceit, intentional material misrepresentation, or criminal misuse. Importantly, DHS proposes applying these authorities retroactively to petitions filed before enactment of the RIA where the threat or fraudulent conduct persisted afterward.
Duration of investment and conditions removal.
For petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022, investors must demonstrate that their full capital was invested and placed at risk for at least two years — with the two-year clock starting from the date of investment rather than the date conditional residence was obtained. The proposal also requires mandatory site visits to project locations before USCIS can approve any petition to remove conditions filed by a regional center investor.
Who Is Affected
Investors, Regional Centers, and Supporting Professionals
The proposed rule’s direct impact falls most heavily on regional centers and the businesses affiliated with them — new commercial enterprises, job-creating entities, and fund administrators. Regional centers face new monitoring and oversight obligations, mandatory audits, expanded annual reporting, and a graduated enforcement framework that includes monetary penalties, suspension, termination, and debarment.
Immigrant investors
Both those going through regional centers and standalone investors — will see changes to what evidence they must submit, how investment duration is calculated, and what steps they must take if their regional center or associated enterprise is sanctioned. Good-faith investors whose regional center is terminated retain statutory protections, including the right to reassociate with a new regional center within 180 days and preserve their priority date.
Promoters
Migration agents and overseas representatives who solicit EB-5 investors will face new registration requirements with USCIS, written agreement mandates, and restrictions on the content of promotional materials. Those who violate the rules face suspension or permanent debarment.
Standalone investors are explicitly barred from pooling investments with other EB-5 investors, even informally. Multiple standalone investors may not invest in the same new commercial enterprise.
Investors who filed petitions before March 15, 2022, are generally governed by the prior regulatory framework, but are not insulated from the new national security and fraud enforcement authorities.
Practical Implications
What This Means for Pending and Future Filings
For investors currently in the pipeline, the most immediate question is whether their existing investment structures will satisfy the new evidentiary and procedural standards when their petition to remove conditions is eventually adjudicated. The requirement of a mandatory site visit before conditions can be removed — applicable to petitions filed on or after March 15, 2024 — is a significant new step that regional centers and investors will need to prepare for. USCIS has indicated site visits may be conducted in person or virtually, but cooperation is not optional.
The elimination of bridge financing as a job-creation basis, if finalized, would affect a substantial number of regional center investment offerings, particularly in real estate development contexts where construction financing is routinely secured in advance of EB-5 capital. Regional centers relying on such structures should take the comment period seriously and evaluate whether their current or planned project applications are affected.
The new high employment area investment threshold of $1,400,000 could redirect investor preferences away from projects in high-employment metropolitan areas, or alter how regional centers structure and market those offerings.
For anyone currently designated as a regional center or in the process of seeking designation, the proposed monitoring and oversight obligations are substantial. Regional centers will need documented compliance programs, internal controls, and evidence of active supervision of affiliated enterprises — requirements that go meaningfully beyond prior practice.
The proposed rule does not yet have a final effective date. It is a notice of proposed rulemaking and will not take legal effect unless and until DHS publishes a final rule after considering public comment.
What to Watch For Next
Upcoming Milestones
The public comment period closes August 31, 2026. Comments must be submitted through regulations.gov referencing DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0100. DHS is specifically requesting input on several contested areas: the treatment of bridge financing, the methodology for calculating weighted unemployment rates in high unemployment area designations, the definition of infrastructure projects, redeployment procedures, and the registration process for promoters.
Stakeholders should monitor the docket for any supplemental guidance or revisions issued during or after the comment period. Once comments close, DHS will review the record and publish a final rule — a process that typically takes one to several years. Until a final rule is published, the existing regulatory framework and interim USCIS guidance remain in effect.
A separate proposed rulemaking addressing EB-5 fees, published in October 2025, is proceeding on a parallel track and may also affect program costs independently of this rule.
How Immigration Professional Association Can Help
The EB-5 rulemaking process is extensive, and its implications differ meaningfully depending on whether you are an investor, a regional center operator, an affiliated entity, or an employer exploring foreign national investment paths to permanent residence. At Immigration Professional Association, we work with foreign investors and their families on EB-5 petition strategy, source-of-funds documentation, and coordination with regional centers — areas the proposed rule directly and substantially affects.
If you are an investor with a pending petition, a regional center evaluating how the new compliance framework will affect your current or planned offerings, or someone considering an EB-5 investment for the first time, the window between now and the final rule is the right time to get a clear picture of how these changes apply to your specific situation. We invite you to contact Immigration Professional Association to discuss what the proposed EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act regulations mean for your path to U.S. permanent residence or your program operations.
