A recent federal court decision has temporarily reshaped the EB-5 fee landscape, reversing the steep fee increases that USCIS attempted to implement in April 2024. As a result of the ruling in Moody et al. v. Mayorkas et al., EB-5 applicants and regional centers can once again file at the pre-April 2024 lower fee levels. These restored fees are already in effect, and they will remain in place until the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalizes a new fee rule, which has been published and is open for public comment until December 22, 2025.
While this development provides short-term relief to investors, the situation is not static. DHS has published a new fee schedule proposal that will replace the temporarily reinstated rates once finalized. The proposed rule may once again restructure EB-5 fees—raising some, lowering others, and ultimately reshaping the financial blueprint for both investors and regional centers.
In this article, we break down what changed, what fees are in place today, what DHS is proposing for the future, and what the practical implications are for investors preparing to file in the coming months.
The April 2024 fee schedule represented one of the most dramatic fee increases in the history of the EB-5 program. Under that rule, the I-526E filing fee jumped from $3,675 to over $11,000, while regional center filings such as the I-956F and I-956 climbed above $47,000 per submission. The court found procedural flaws in DHS’s implementation of that fee rule and issued a stay, which had the effect of restoring all EB-5 fees to the lower pre-April 2024 levels.
For EB-5 investors and regional centers, this means that the filing fees currently required by USCIS have returned to their original pricing. USCIS will still accept a filing that includes the higher April 2024 fee, but there is no advantage to paying more—the reinstated lower fees are the ones now in effect.
In practical terms, this sudden reversal brings short-term financial relief. Investors benefit most clearly from the reduced I-526E and I-829 fees, while regional centers—who often absorb the cost of filing I-956F project approvals—avoid tens of thousands of dollars per submission.
The restored filing fees are now identical to the pre-April 2024 levels. Below are the fees currently in effect:
These are the only fees investors and regional centers are required to pay until the new DHS fee rule becomes final.
To understand the magnitude of the change, it is helpful to compare the current (restored) fees to the April 2024 fees that were halted by the court. Under the April 2024 rule:
These increases shocked much of the immigration community because they placed financial pressure not only on regional centers but also on investors—especially those pursuing family-based filings, removal of conditions, and project-related approvals. The return to the lower fee levels therefore represents a meaningful cost reduction for anyone filing during the remainder of 2025.
While the reinstated fees are helpful in the immediate term, they are not permanent. DHS has published a proposed fee rule that is currently open for public comment until December 22, 2025. This rule is separate from the 2024 rule that was stayed, and the fee levels DHS is proposing differ significantly from both the current fees and the halted April 2024 fees.
Under the proposed fee rule, several EB-5 fees would rise, but many would also decrease relative to April 2024 levels. DHS is proposing the following EB-5 fees for the future:
These numbers are not yet final. After the public comment period ends on December 22, 2025, DHS must review all submitted comments, make any revisions to the rule, and then publish a final rule—likely taking effect sometime in 2026. Investors and regional centers should expect another fee adjustment cycle next year.
The most notable part of the proposal is that the I-956 and I-956F filings—while still expensive—would be substantially lower than the nearly $48,000 price tag of the April 2024 rule. Conversely, some investor petitions, such as the I-526E and I-829, would increase significantly above today’s temporarily reinstated pricing.
For investors preparing to file their EB-5 petitions, the reinstated fees provide a temporary but meaningful cost advantage. Filing at the current levels saves an investor:
Investors who were delaying their filings may now benefit from filing sooner, before the proposed adjustments are finalized in 2026.
Project sponsors and regional centers also benefit from lower I-956F filing costs, especially those raising capital for multiple offerings. The difference between the current fee and the April 2024 fee is more than $29,000 per filing, which, multiplied across several projects, represents significant operational savings.
While individual investors save money on their petitions, regional centers are arguably the largest beneficiaries of the fee rollback. The I-956 and I-956F filings represent substantial overhead for EB-5 project operators, and restoring the lower historical fees reduces the cost of launching and maintaining a compliant EB-5 project.
However, these costs may rise again once DHS finalizes the proposed rule after the public comment period. Regional centers should incorporate the proposed fee levels into their long-term budgeting models and be prepared for fee adjustments in 2026. The proposed fees still represent higher costs than today’s restored levels, even if they are far lower than the April 2024 figures.
The reinstated fees are unlikely to remain in place for long. USCIS has already published a proposed fee rule that is currently open for public comment until December 22, 2025. However, it is important for investors and regional centers to understand that the end of the public comment period does not trigger an automatic fee increase. After December 22nd, DHS must review all submitted comments, make any revisions to the rule, and then publish a final rule—a process that typically takes weeks or months.
Because of this timeline, most EB-5 industry observers expect that new, higher EB-5 fees will take effect sometime in early 2026, not immediately after December 22nd. While the final fee levels may differ from those in the proposal, the overall trend indicates that EB-5 filing costs will rise again once DHS finalizes the next rule.
In the meantime, investors have a limited window to file at the lower, reinstated fee levels before DHS formalizes the new structure in 2026.
The EB-5 program has undergone several major statutory and regulatory changes since the passage of the Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. The fluctuation in filing fees is yet another reminder that the program’s compliance costs and administrative structure remain in transition. Staying informed and planning filings strategically can help investors save thousands of dollars while avoiding regulatory surprises.