Why EB-5 Investment Minimums Change in 2027
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) fundamentally changed how investment minimums are set. Before the RIA, Congress had to pass new legislation to adjust the amounts. The original $500,000 TEA minimum set in 1990 was not adjusted for over 30 years, severely eroding its real value.
Section 102(a)(3) of the RIA introduced an automatic inflation adjustment mechanism. Every five years, USCIS must recalculate the minimum investment amounts using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The first adjustment takes effect on January 1, 2027, approximately five years after the RIA became law on March 15, 2022.
The adjustment is calculated by measuring the cumulative change in CPI-U from the base period (March 2022) to the measurement date. The adjusted standard amount is rounded down to the nearest $50,000, and the TEA amount is 75% of it. The next adjustment after 2027 would take effect on January 1, 2032.
Key Dates
Passed
September 30, 2026
Grandfathering deadline. Protects earlier regional center petitions if the program lapses; not an investment amount lock.
Upcoming
January 1, 2027
CPI-U inflation adjustment. Petitions filed before this date use the current $800,000 TEA and $1,050,000 non-TEA minimums; the adjusted amounts have not been announced.
See our cost calculator for a complete breakdown of all EB-5 filing costs.