The United States will more than double its EB-5 investor visa fees from November 30 under new rules issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The change centres on Form I-526, the petition that starts the EB-5 immigration process for foreign investors. Under the new USCIS fee schedule, individual investors will pay $7,615 to file the form, up from the current $3,675. The increase works out to just over 107 percent.

Investors filing through a regional centre will face a separate, slightly higher rate. Regional-centre applicants will pay $7,850 for Form I-526 once the new rules take effect.

What changes and for whom

Two groups of applicants are directly affected by the new fee structure:

• Individual (direct) investors, who file Form I-526 on their own behalf, will see the filing fee rise from $3,675 to $7,615.
• Regional-centre applicants, who invest through USCIS-designated regional centres, will pay $7,850.

In both cases the fee applies at the petition stage — the first formal step an investor takes when seeking permanent resident status through the EB-5 programme. From November 30, applicants must budget for the higher amounts when preparing their filings.

The timing

The new fees take effect on November 30. Investors who file Form I-526 on or after that date will pay the revised amounts. The current fee of $3,675 applies only to filings made before the effective date.

What the fee increase means for applicants

The increase more than doubles the administrative cost of the initial petition, and it comes on top of the capital investment an EB-5 applicant must already commit under the programme. For investors weighing a direct filing versus a regional-centre route, the fee difference between the two tracks will now be $235, with regional-centre filings carrying the higher charge.

Applicants preparing petitions should check the exact fee requirements on the official USCIS website before filing, as USCIS sets the authoritative fee schedule and filing instructions. USCIS will reject petitions submitted with incorrect fees.

Key numbers at a glance

Filing type	Current fee	New fee (from Nov 30)
Form I-526, individual investor	$3,675	$7,615
Form I-526, regional-centre applicant	—	$7,850

What applicants should do now

Anyone planning an EB-5 filing in the near term should confirm the applicable fee on the official USCIS fee schedule before submitting Form I-526. Because the new amounts apply from November 30, filings made before that date remain at the current fee level, while later filings must reflect the revised charges.

The fee schedule and filing instructions published by USCIS remain the official source for the exact amounts, payment methods and any conditions attached to the new fees.