How can I switch from an EB-5 direct investment to a regional center investment?

You would have to start with a new I-526 petition, putting you at the beginning of the line once again. There is no way to convert a direct EB-5 investment to a regional center investment.

There is no way to "switch", but you can start over and file a new I-526 for your direct investment. However, please note that you will not be able to preserve the priority date until and unless the new proposed regulations to preserve the PD goes through.

There is no legal mechanism to switch. You must file a new I-526 petition with a new priority date. It might be best to wait and see what happens at the end of April before you decide. Getting the funds out of China before then is doubtful, or at least very difficult and time-consuming.

You would have to file an I-526 petition for a new investment in a Regional Center project.

One really does not switch from an EB-5 direct investment to a Regional Center investment. One would simply make a new investment in a Regional Center project by filing a new EB-5 Investor Petition on Form I-526, thus creating a new priority date under the annual quota allocation for Chinese nationals. You may wish to maintain the petition you filed in March 2016 since that would give you an earlier priority date. It is likely that the Regional Center program will be reauthorized on or by April 28, 2017. After that decision, filing a new petition with a Regional Center may result in a higher rate of success than a direct EB-5 investment. If you decide to do so, you must make an investment decision, pick a project and retain experienced legal counsel to prepare and file the petition for you.

It is possible but, until new legislation passes, the new filing will have the current Priority Date. There is legislation proposed that would recapture the Priority Date from your direct investment filing, but this is not in effect yet.

If the funds have not yet been committed, you may be able to withdraw the existing application and refile in an RC project. You will, however, most likely lose your priority date or be placed in the waiting line.

If you now want to invest in a regional center project, you will need to redo the whole EB-5 filing process from the beginning and file a new petition before the end of April. This may not be feasible as USCIS is now starting to question how Chinese investors are having 10 friends to wire out money for them and asking for the Source of Funds of those friends, as well. Also, the direct EB-5 program, unlike the regional center program, is permanent and will not expire. Thus, keeping your direct EB-5 investment may be the best option at this time.