EB-5 Visa: Immigrant Investor Green Card Requirements and Process

What Is the EB-5 Visa?

EB-5 is the employment-based fifth preference visa, the immigrant category for people who qualify through investment rather than employment or family. In exchange for putting capital at risk in a U.S. business that creates jobs, the investor, their spouse, and their unmarried children under 21 can become lawful permanent residents.

The program changed substantially under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, which changed the required investment amounts, created reserved visa categories for certain project types, added integrity and audit requirements, and reauthorized the regional center program through September 30, 2027. Any guidance written before 2022 is out of date, which is worth keeping in mind when researching the category.

How Much You Must Invest, and Where

The Reform and Integrity Act set the standard minimum investment at $1,050,000. If the money goes into a targeted employment area, the minimum drops to $800,000. Beginning January 1, 2027, and every five years after, these amounts adjust for inflation, so the figures should be confirmed as of the filing date.

A targeted employment area is either a rural area or an area of high unemployment. A rural area is one outside a metropolitan statistical area and outside any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more. A high-unemployment area is one where unemployment equals or exceeds 150% of the national average. Under the current rules, the Department of Homeland Security makes these designations, and a designation is valid for two years.

Where the investment goes also affects the wait for a visa. The Act reserved a share of the roughly 10,000 annual EB-5 visas for three project types: 20% for rural projects, 10% for high-unemployment projects, and 2% for infrastructure projects. These reserved categories have so far remained current for every country, which means investors from heavily backlogged countries such as China and India can often avoid the multi-year wait they would likely face in an unreserved category.

EB-5 Fees and Timelines

EB-5 government fees are among the highest in the immigration system and are updated periodically, so the current amounts for the investor petition, the adjustment or consular stage, and the I-829 should be confirmed on the USCIS fee schedule before filing. These are separate from the investment itself and from any fees a regional center or project charges.

Processing times vary widely by petition type and project. Petitions tied to rural projects receive priority processing, while others can take considerably longer, and the wait for a visa number depends on the category and country of birth. As of 2026, the reserved categories and the regional center program are currently authorized through September 30, 2027.