I-526E Filings Hit Record High in FY2025: 6,660 Petitions Filed, $5.3 Billion Raised

Overview#

USCIS published quarterly statistics for the fourth quarter of FY2025 (July through September 2025), completing the full fiscal year dataset for both I-526E (regional center) and I-526 (direct) petitions. The data confirms FY2025 as the strongest year for EB-5 filings since the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) in March 2022.

This analysis covers filing volumes, adjudication rates, capital formation estimates, investor market composition, and the pending case backlog from USCIS published data. All data points are sourced from USCIS quarterly statistics unless otherwise noted.

Source: USCIS, Form I-526 Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor and Form I-526E Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor, Quarterly Statistics (Q4 FY2025). Blue trust tier.

Disclaimer: Capital formation estimates are calculated from filing volumes and minimum investment amounts. Individual outcomes and actual capital raised may vary. This analysis does not constitute investment advice.

Record filing volume: 6,660 petitions in FY2025#

EB-5 investors filed 6,660 Form I-526E and I-526 petitions in FY2025. That is a 37% increase over FY2024 (4,848 filings), continuing the upward trajectory since the RIA's enactment.

Post-RIA filing volume by fiscal year#

Source: USCIS quarterly statistics. Blue trust tier.

Quarterly filing volumes in FY2025 averaged about 1,665 combined petitions per quarter (6,660 across four quarters). Full-year I-526E receipts were 6,307, with the balance of filings coming through the standalone I-526 pathway. Over 90% of investors continue to choose the regional center pathway.

Cumulatively, more than 14,500 I-526E and I-526 petitions were filed from the RIA's enactment through September 30, 2025, with over 90% choosing to invest through a regional center.

Source: USCIS quarterly statistics. Blue trust tier.

Capital formation: estimated $5.3 billion in FY2025#

Based on filing volumes and the minimum required investment amounts ($800,000 for Targeted Employment Area projects, $1,050,000 for standard projects), EB5Status estimates that at least $5.3 billion in EB-5 investment capital was raised in FY2025.

This follows an estimated $3.9 billion in FY2024 capital formation. In total, an estimated $12 billion in EB-5 investment has been raised since the RIA's enactment in 2022.

Source: EB5Status estimate based on USCIS filing data and minimum investment thresholds. Gray trust tier.

Several factors are driving this growth: the continued availability of set aside visas without retrogression, improved processing times relative to the pre-RIA period, and a pipeline of qualified EB-5 projects meeting the RIA's integrity requirements.

Adjudications surge: 3,439 decisions in FY2025#

USCIS completed 3,439 I-526E and I-526 petition adjudications in FY2025 (3,201 approvals, 238 denials), a 207% year over year increase over FY2024's 1,119 completions. USCIS also publishes per-quarter I-526E adjudication counts: the strongest quarter was FY2025 Q3, when USCIS approved 1,047 of 1,113 completed I-526E petitions, a 94% quarterly approval share. Basis: USCIS quarterly all-forms workbooks.

Across FY2023 through FY2025, USCIS approved 4,344 new-law petitions (I-526E plus standalone I-526 combined: 63 in FY2023, 1,080 in FY2024, and 3,201 in FY2025), so FY2025 accounted for roughly 74% of all post-RIA approvals to date. For Form I-526E alone, FY2025 produced 3,171 approvals and 195 denials across 3,366 completions.

Source: USCIS quarterly all-forms workbooks. Blue trust tier.

Approval share of completions by petition type#

Approval share is approvals divided by completions (approvals plus denials), taken from each year's Q4 FYTD columns of the USCIS quarterly all-forms workbooks.

Source: USCIS quarterly all-forms workbooks. Blue trust tier.

The I-526E approval share of 94.2% in FY2025 is a normalization from the near perfect rates in earlier years, when only the most straightforward petitions had been adjudicated. An approval share above 94% across 3,366 I-526E completions indicates the post-RIA program was functioning as designed through FY2025. In FY2026 Q1, the first quarter with a material I-526E denial share, the approval share fell to 81.3% of completions, and in FY2026 Q3 it was 76% (687 approved of 904 completions).

The 41% approval share for standalone post-RIA I-526 petitions points to higher adjudication risk in that category. Pre-RIA legacy I-526 petitions are tracked on a separate line and are now a small residual inventory: in FY2026 Q1 USCIS recorded 29 legacy approvals and 41 denials, leaving 1,071 legacy petitions pending. By comparison, the regional center pathway carries clear structural advantages under the current regulatory framework.

Investor market composition: China and India dominate#

Chinese and Indian investors account for 73% of all post-RIA filings, with the following breakdown by country of birth:

Post-RIA filings by investor country of birth (cumulative, April 2022 through September 2025)#

Source: USCIS receipts-by-country data (combined Form I-526 and Form I-526E receipts by country of birth). This workbook's cumulative total (14,555) differs slightly from the sum of annual receipts in the all-forms workbooks (about 14,500) because the two datasets are compiled on different bases. Blue trust tier.

FY2025 trends by country#

Source: USCIS receipts-by-country data (combined I-526E and I-526 receipts; the FY2025 combined total is 6,660). Blue trust tier.

Indian and Korean investor demand saw triple digit growth in FY2025. Indian filings more than doubled from 879 to 1,902, and Korean filings nearly tripled from 100 to 280. Chinese filings grew 22%, Vietnamese filings increased 75%, and Taiwan filings grew 3%.

Note: USCIS does not release detailed data for the "Rest of the World" category.

Project preferences: rural filings overtake HUA#

Rural set-aside filings overtook High Unemployment Area (HUA) filings in FY2025. Through Q3 FY2025, I-526E receipts included 2,781 rural set-aside filings against 1,906 HUA filings, per the USCIS receipts-by-TEA-category data. In FY2024 the two categories were nearly even: 2,305 rural versus 2,232 HUA.

This shift likely reflects the RIA's statutory priority processing for rural petitions and the dedicated rural visa set-aside, which are particularly attractive to investors from countries with longer visa backlogs. USCIS publishes no separate rural processing-time range in its Check Case Processing Times tool.

Source: USCIS I-526E receipts by set-aside category (FY2024 annual; FY2025 through Q3). Blue trust tier.

Pending backlog: 9,005 I-526E petitions awaiting decision#

As of September 30, 2025, 9,005 post-RIA I-526E petitions remained pending at USCIS; combined new-law pending inventory (I-526E plus standalone I-526) rose from 6,227 at the end of FY2024 to 9,669, a 55% increase.

Pre-RIA legacy I-526 petitions are tracked separately: 1,071 remained pending as of December 31, 2025 (FY2026 Q1) and 960 as of June 30, 2026 (FY2026 Q3).

Source: USCIS quarterly all-forms workbooks. Blue trust tier.

Backlog implications#

The I-526E backlog kept growing into FY2026. In FY2026 Q1, I-526E receipts (1,667) outpaced completions (940) and the pending inventory grew to 9,734. By June 30, 2026 (FY2026 Q3), pending I-526E petitions had reached 11,192.

For investors weighing set-aside categories: rural petitions receive statutory priority processing under the RIA, and AIIA FOIA data (USCIS records obtained via FOIA, through July 31, 2025) shows 44% of rural I-526E filings approved versus about 8.5% of HUA filings adjudicated. USCIS publishes no separate rural processing-time range.

Source: USCIS quarterly all-forms workbooks (FY2026 Q1 and Q3); AIIA FOIA data; EB5Status analysis. Gray trust tier.

Retrogression outlook#

Despite the surge in I-526E approvals in FY2025, the set-aside categories (rural, HUA, infrastructure) remain Current with no cut-off dates as of the November 2026 Visa Bulletin.

As approval volumes grow, cut-off dates could eventually appear in the rural or HUA categories. Check the visa bulletin page for the latest dates.

Source: U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin for November 2026. Blue trust tier.

What this means for EB-5 investors#

The FY2025 data confirms that the EB-5 program under the RIA is growing. Filing volumes are at record highs, and the I-526E approval share of completions was 94.2% for FY2025. That share fell to 81.3% in FY2026 Q1 and 76% in FY2026 Q3, so approval outcomes bear watching rather than extrapolating.

For prospective investors evaluating the EB-5 pathway:

Regional center petitions (I-526E) carried lower adjudication risk than standalone direct petitions (I-526) in FY2025, with a 94.2% approval share of completions versus 41%.

Rural projects receive statutory priority processing (USCIS publishes no separate rural processing-time range) and have a dedicated visa set-aside with no current retrogression.

Set-aside categories have no cut-off dates as of the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, but sustained growth in filings and approvals could change that.

Pending I-526E petitions grew from 9,005 at the end of FY2025 to 11,192 at June 30, 2026, so USCIS completions are still not keeping pace with receipts.

Source: EB5Status analysis of USCIS data. Gray trust tier.

Methodology note#

Filing volumes and adjudication data are sourced from the USCIS quarterly all-forms workbooks for Form I-526 and Form I-526E. Annual figures are taken from each year's Q4 FYTD columns; where a quarterly figure is not printed directly, it is derived by subtracting the prior quarter's YTD total and labeled as derived. Fiscal-year totals are stated on a combined I-526E plus standalone I-526 basis unless a figure is labeled I-526E only. Capital formation estimates are calculated by multiplying filing volumes by the applicable minimum investment amounts ($800,000 for TEA, $1,050,000 for non-TEA), which produces a conservative lower bound estimate. Actual capital raised may be higher due to investors choosing non-TEA projects or investing above the minimum threshold.

Country of birth data is sourced from USCIS receipts-by-country tables (combined I-526E and I-526 receipts). USCIS does not provide granular detail for the "Rest of the World" category.

Approval shares are calculated from USCIS published approval and denial counts as a share of completions (approvals plus denials).

All data reflects information available as of November 7, 2026, including the FY2026 Q3 quarterly release.