A structured, evidence-first approach to the EB-5 immigrant investor route — Regional Center and Direct, the Targeted Employment Area discount, the rural set-aside, and the timing decisions that matter in 2026. No guesswork. No shortcuts.
Last updated: 12 June 2026 — reviewed against USCIS program settings and the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.
Free EB-5 Eligibility Assessment — Regional Center vs Direct, Targeted Employment Area projects, the rural set-aside, and the 30 September 2026 timing question for your family.
Get Assessment| US EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa (Regional Center & Direct) | |
|---|---|
| Governing authority | US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) |
| Status | Open and active (Regional Center authorised through 30 September 2027; Direct has no sunset) |
| Investment floor | ~USD 800,000 (Targeted Employment Area) or ~USD 1,050,000 (standard) — must create/preserve 10 full-time US jobs. [program thresholds; Cosmos fees confirmed after assessment] |
| Key date | Grandfathering cutoff 30 September 2026; inflation adjustment 1 January 2027 (projected ~$900k TEA / ~$1.2M standard) |
| Family | Principal applicant, spouse and unmarried children under 21 — conditional green card, I-829 to remove conditions after ~2 years |
| As of | June 2026 |
We assist applicants based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait City, Muscat, Manama, as well as across India. EB-5 is a US program, so the petition itself is prepared and submitted through US-licensed immigration attorneys and government-authorised channels in our network — our role is to coordinate eligibility review, documentation and case management around that.
The objective is not speed alone — it is correctness, source-of-funds discipline, and a plan you can actually act on.
The EB-5 investment floor in 2026 is currently around USD 800,000 for a project in a Targeted Employment Area — a rural area or a high-unemployment area where unemployment is at least 150% of the national average — or around USD 1,050,000 for a standard project, according to USCIS. Either way, the investment must create or preserve ten full-time US jobs, and the capital must stay genuinely at risk.
The headline figure is the easy part. Where EB-5 cases actually turn is the source-of-funds trail: every dollar must be lawfully sourced and documented to a standard most self-managed files underestimate. That is the work we coordinate up front with the US-licensed attorney handling your petition. Find out where you stand — free assessment.
Petitions filed on or before 30 September 2026 receive statutory grandfathering: USCIS must continue adjudicating them under current rules even if the Regional Center Program later lapses, expires, or is not reauthorised after September 2027. Petitions filed after 30 September 2026 do not get that protection. These are two distinct dates — the grandfathering cutoff is 30 September 2026; the program reauthorisation expiry is 30 September 2027.
Filing before the cutoff does something else too: it locks in today's lower investment amounts before the projected 1 January 2027 increase. For families weighing the EB-5 route this year, the timing question is genuine, not a sales prompt — and it is the first thing we map in an assessment. Message us on WhatsApp.
The honest note. Filing before 30 September 2026 protects how your petition is adjudicated — it does not guarantee approval, it does not erase visa backlogs, and it does not stop future legislative change. The set-aside categories are marked Current for India today, but "Current" reflects USCIS adjudication pace, not the size of the queue behind it, and it can retrogress. EB-5 also yields a conditional green card, with an I-829 step to remove conditions after about two years and ongoing US tax and residence obligations. Every figure on this page carries an as-of date for exactly these reasons.
Regional Center EB-5 lets you invest through a USCIS-designated entity that pools investor capital into a larger project and counts indirect and induced jobs toward the ten-job requirement; Direct EB-5 means you invest in and actively manage your own US enterprise, counting only direct W-2 jobs. The Regional Center route is the more common choice for passive investors based overseas.
The practical trade-off: Regional Center cases ride on the strength and track record of the project and its job-creation cushion, while Direct cases put the operating risk and management burden on you. The rural set-aside — available through many Regional Center projects — currently carries USCIS priority processing and has been Current for India, which is why it features heavily in 2026 planning. We'll talk you through which structure genuinely fits your file — even if the honest answer is "not this route." Message us on WhatsApp.
EB-5 is a US immigration program. Cosmos Immigration holds no US licence, and our CICC, MARA and IAA registrations do not extend to it. Your I-526 or I-526E petition is therefore prepared and submitted through US-licensed immigration attorneys and government-authorised channels in our network. Cosmos coordinates eligibility review, documentation and case management around that engagement.
Rural set-aside I-526E approvals have been reported in roughly 6 to 12 months in 2026 — often around 8 to 10 — because the rural set-aside carries USCIS priority processing. Filings are surging globally ahead of the September 2026 deadline, so realistic timelines can move; USCIS publishes current processing data, and we set expectations against it rather than against marketing claims.
Applicants already inside the US can file Form I-485 concurrently while the petition is pending and obtain an Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole in roughly three to six months — a meaningful advantage for those waiting on other categories. The stages you control — source-of-funds documentation and project due diligence — set most of the timeline. Preparation is what separates competitive applications, and preparation is assessable.
For Indian applicants, the EB-5 capital outlay must comply with the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which currently caps outward remittance at USD 250,000 per person per financial year. Because the EB-5 floor sits well above that cap, families typically plan the funding across multiple members and/or financial years, or use other permitted routes — so the RBI/LRS question is one to resolve with your bank and a qualified professional before anything else.
On citizenship: a US green card is residence, not citizenship. Acquiring it does not require renouncing Indian citizenship, so OCI and surrender questions do not arise at the green-card stage — they only become relevant much later, and only if the holder chooses to naturalise as a US citizen.
This is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Remittances are governed by RBI regulations under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and your bank's compliance requirements — consult a qualified chartered accountant or your authorised dealer bank before moving funds.
All criteria are set by USCIS and US law and are subject to change.
← View all residence-by-investment pathways on the hub page.
The investment floor is currently around USD 800,000 for a Targeted Employment Area project (rural or high-unemployment) or around USD 1,050,000 for a standard project, per USCIS, and the investment must create or preserve ten full-time US jobs. There are separate government, project and professional costs; Cosmos fees are confirmed after an assessment, never quoted upfront.
Petitions filed on or before 30 September 2026 are grandfathered — USCIS must keep adjudicating them under current rules even if the Regional Center Program lapses later. Petitions filed after that date are not grandfathered. It is a separate date from the program's 30 September 2027 reauthorisation expiry.
A CPI-based inflation adjustment is due on 1 January 2027 under the Reform and Integrity Act. Projections based on CPI-U data through January 2026 point to roughly USD 900,000 for TEA projects and roughly USD 1,200,000 for standard projects, but these are projections — USCIS has not yet published the final figures. Filing before 30 September 2026 also locks in the current lower amounts.
In the June 2026 Visa Bulletin the set-aside categories, including the rural set-aside, were marked Current for India, and the rural set-aside carries USCIS priority processing. The capital outlay must still fit the RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme cap of USD 250,000 per person per financial year, so Indian families usually plan the funding carefully first — and a green card does not affect Indian citizenship at the green-card stage.
If you are already in the US and a visa number is available in your category, you can file Form I-485 concurrently with the EB-5 petition and obtain an Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole in roughly three to six months while the petition is pending. Eligibility depends on your current status and the Visa Bulletin, which is exactly what an assessment checks.
Cosmos Immigration is a regulated immigration consultancy founded in Dubai in 2014, working through CICC-, MARA- and IAA-registered professionals, with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hyderabad and Oakville. EB-5 is a US program that falls outside those registrations, so EB-5 petitions are prepared and submitted through US-licensed immigration attorneys and government-authorised channels in our network — Cosmos coordinates eligibility, documentation and case management. Before you engage anyone for any visa, look them up on the relevant official register, and ask any US attorney to confirm their state-bar licensing directly. Verify Our Credentials
Cosmos Immigration is a private consultancy, not a government body and not a law firm. Program criteria and figures are set by USCIS and US law and are subject to change; verified against official sources as of the date shown.
Start with a free assessment, not a sales pitch — or message us on WhatsApp. We'll tell you honestly whether EB-5 fits your family and your timing — even if the answer is no.
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