The next 1.5 years before the expiration of the “grandfathering” protection for the EB-5 program represent the most favorable period for making an EB-5 investment, professionals said in a recent Eb5investors.com webinar.
The panel included Charles Oppenheim of WR Immigration, a former Chief of Visa Control at the Department of State; Ishaan Khanna, a former EB-5 investor and president of the American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA); and Brian Zirulnikoff, Director of Investor Relations at HomeFed.
Regarding current issues affecting the program, they discussed how foreign investors should submit their applications as early as possible. This also means having a fully funded investment, a well-documented application, and support from experienced EB-5 legal professionals.
Investors must file early to avoid legislative risk due to the program’s 2027 expiration
This year is the most critical year for EB-5 since the 2022 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA), which resumed the program after June 2021, the panelists said.
Among the many improvements RIA introduced to the program is the “grandfathering” provision. It protects individuals who file for the EB-5 program before October 1, 2026. This means that anyone who submits their application before that date will be safeguarded even if the EB-5 program lapses after their application is filed. However, those who apply after this deadline may face uncertainties, including the possibility that their applications will not be guaranteed processing if the program is no longer available.
“You quite literally have 7 months to do EB‑5 before this protection goes away,” says Khanna. “You can still do it, the program’s still going to be there for at least another year. But that risk would be extremely great. This is why this is the most pivotal time for us.”
Oppenheim added: “It’s important that [investors] act now so that everything can be filed before September 30.”
EB-5 investment minimums will increase in 2027
RIA mandates that the minimum investment amount is automatically increased every five years, starting in January 2027. This increase will depend on how much prices go up over time.
Minimum investment amounts today are $800,000 for an EB-5 project located in a TEA and $1,050,000 everywhere else in the U.S.
“We already know it’s going up to $900K in January [2027],” Khanna cautioned. “[U.S. government] probably wants more frequent increases. I think by 2030, we’re probably looking at, like, $1 million minimum.”
The “current” visa status for set-asides should last through the 2026 fiscal year
The professionals agreed that no backlogs are expected for any EB-5 set-aside category this fiscal year (ending September 30, 2026) due to low adjudication volume.
This classification applies to EB-5 projects located in high-unemployment areas (HUAs) in Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs), whether rural or urban; Rural TEAs; and designated infrastructure initiatives in urban or rural TEAs. The Unreserved category includes EB-5 projects located in urban and non-urban areas, TEAs, and pre-RIA projects.
However, the panelists cautioned that the backlog in the set-asides is growing slowly and that approvals could eventually be limited.
“It is our opinion that there will be no priority dates on any of the set-aside categories for any country for the remainder of this fiscal year,” Khanna said.
DOS had already warned in January 2025 that a backlog affecting these investment options was possible.
Rural set-aside categories are likely to backlog and retrogress first, as data show that many rural petitions have been approved while high-unemployment petitions lag. This poses a risk of earlier retrogression for rural set-asides, according to Oppenheim.
As to the current backlog affecting Chinese and Indian EB-5 applications under the Unreserved category, Chinese applicants should prepare for long wait times, they said. In contrast, Indian applicants may benefit the most from strategic set-aside planning.
Avoid partial funding strategies due to increased scrutiny
The EB-5 specialists noted that USCIS is increasing scrutiny of investments made with partial payments. They also urged investors and their legal advisors to provide full capital and source documentation upfront.
Total payments are made when applicants pay the full investment amount, regardless of whether the location is a TEA or a non-TEA. Meanwhile, partial investments involve an initial payment, with the remainder due at a later agreed-upon date.
There are reports of the agency denying cases in which investors file only part of the funding and incomplete source-of-funds evidence.
“The agency has not been very kind to people who are doing partial,” Khanna said. “They are straight up just denying investors who are not showing their full source of funds in the initial filing.”
Oppenheim adds that the USCIS is preferring investors “that are fully funded versus a partial. Partial’s an easy, ‘put this in the other pile.’”
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