USCIS Policy Manual Updates for EB-5: What Changed in 2026

The USCIS Policy Manual is the agency's main guidance for officers deciding immigration cases, including EB-5 petitions. This article explains where the EB-5 guidance sits, which documented changes have affected EB-5 investors through 2026, and how to check for new ones.

Correction, November 7, 2026: An earlier version of this article described a set of 2026 Policy Manual updates on source of funds, regional center certifications, TEA procedures, and exemplar petitions, including specific rules such as a 60-day termination deadline and a 10 percent material change threshold. We could not find any USCIS Policy Alert supporting those descriptions, and we have removed them. The changes listed below are ones we could match to a published USCIS or DHS source.

How the USCIS Policy Manual Is Organized for EB-5#

The Policy Manual replaced the legacy Adjudicator's Field Manual and many separate policy memoranda as the agency's central guidance. It is organized into volumes, each covering a distinct area of immigration law and procedure.

For EB-5 investors, the core guidance is in Volume 6 (Immigrants), Part G (Investors). Part G covers eligibility for the investor petition, including the lawful source of funds, capital at risk, and job creation, along with the Regional Center Program and removal of conditions. Chapter 2 of Part G covers immigrant petition eligibility requirements, including source of funds.

Other volumes matter too. Volume 7 covers adjustment of status, including concurrent filing and the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). Volume 10 covers employment authorization, including the EAD an investor can get while an I-485 is pending.

USCIS updates the Policy Manual on a rolling basis and announces each change in a Policy Alert on its website. Policy Alerts are the most reliable early sign of a change in how cases are decided.

Policy Manual Changes That Affect EB-5 Investors#

RIA implementation guidance (October 2023 and July 2024)#

On October 26, 2023, USCIS updated Part G to reflect the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), including the reformed Regional Center Program. In July 2024, it added guidance on noncompliance: sanctions such as termination, debarment, and suspension of regional centers, new commercial enterprises, and job-creating entities, and the INA 203(b)(5)(M) protections for good-faith investors whose regional center or project is terminated or debarred.

CSPA age calculation (August 15, 2025)#

For adjustment applications filed on or after August 15, 2025, USCIS again uses only the Final Action Dates chart in the Visa Bulletin to decide when a visa became available for a child's CSPA age calculation. The February 2023 policy, which also allowed the Dates for Filing chart, still applies to applications filed before that date. This matters for EB-5 families with children near 21.

EAD validity (December 5, 2025)#

USCIS cut the maximum validity of EADs based on a pending I-485 from five years to 18 months, for applications pending on or filed on or after December 5, 2025. EB-5 investors who file concurrently should now plan for EAD renewals while the I-526E is pending.

Other USCIS Changes in 2026 That Are Not in the Policy Manual#

A new I-526E processing order (March 30, 2026)#

USCIS announced on February 25, 2026 that from March 30, 2026 it would manage EB-5 petitions through an inventory approach. An investor's I-526E is generally taken up only after the associated Form I-956F project application is decided. Rural petitions sit in their own first-in, first-out queue and are assigned first, followed by other post-RIA petitions. This was announced on the USCIS EB-5 web pages rather than as a Policy Manual chapter.

Regional center termination notices (from September 2025)#

USCIS terminated a group of regional centers in January 2025 for not paying the Integrity Fund fee and began sending termination notices to affected investors on September 25, 2025. Post-RIA investors generally have 180 days from the notice to keep their eligibility under INA 203(b)(5)(M) by filing an I-526E amendment.

EB-5 fees (November 30, 2026)#

A DHS final rule (91 FR 61940) sets new EB-5 fees for filings postmarked on or after November 30, 2026, including $7,850 for Form I-526E, $5,000 for Form I-829, a $1,100 Integrity Fund fee per investor petition, and a regional center annual fee of $22,000, or $11,000 for centers with 20 or fewer investors. Earlier, the April 2024 fee increases for EB-5 forms had been stayed in Moody v. Noem in November 2025.

TEA Designation Under the RIA#

Targeted Employment Area status determines whether an investor qualifies for the reduced investment amount ($800,000 rather than $1,050,000). Under the RIA:

• Rural areas are defined by statute: an area outside a metropolitan statistical area and outside the outer boundary of any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more.
• High-unemployment areas are designated by DHS. The area is the census tract where the new commercial enterprise principally does business, plus at most one directly adjacent tract, with unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average.

State and local governments can no longer designate TEAs for new petitions.

How Policy Manual Changes Affect Pending Petitions#

Whether an update can change the outcome of a petition already filed depends on what kind of change it is.

Substantive changes that impose new requirements generally apply only to petitions filed on or after the effective date, unless the update says otherwise.

Clarifications of existing law are treated as statements of what the law always required, so USCIS may apply them to pending petitions.

Procedural adjustments, such as filing locations or processing order, generally apply to all cases regardless of filing date. The CSPA and EAD changes above show that USCIS often sets a specific filing-date cutoff, so read each Policy Alert for its effective date.

Investors with pending petitions should work with their immigration attorneys to assess whether a recent update affects their case. The EB-5 Visa Complete Guide on EB5Attorneys gives an overview of the process and the role of an immigration lawyer. For background on the RIA itself, see our coverage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.

Where to Find and Monitor Policy Manual Updates#

USCIS Website Resources#

The Policy Manual is at uscis.gov/policy-manual. Its Policy Manual Updates page lists Policy Alerts in reverse chronological order, with links to the chapters that changed. The USCIS EB-5 pages, including EB-5 Questions and Answers, carry guidance that is not in the Policy Manual, such as the March 2026 processing order.

Federal Register Notices#

The Policy Manual is guidance, not regulation, so it is not published in the Federal Register. Fee rules and other regulations that affect EB-5 are, and they often come before or alongside Policy Manual changes.

USCIS Stakeholder Engagements#

USCIS periodically holds public engagements on EB-5. They sometimes preview changes or explain recent ones.

Industry Resources#

IIUSA, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and EB-5 publications track changes and offer analysis. Always check what they report against the official USCIS text.

Practical Recommendations for Investors#

Document thoroughly. Source of funds remains the part of the petition most likely to draw a request for evidence. Build the full trail from origin to investment before you file.

Check the project application. Under the March 2026 processing order, an I-526E generally waits for the project's I-956F decision, so ask the sponsor where that application stands.

Evaluate regional center compliance. Ask whether the center has paid its Integrity Fund fees and filed its annual statements, since nonpayment led to the January 2025 terminations.

Plan for the EAD and CSPA changes. Families filing concurrently should budget for EAD renewals and model children's CSPA ages using the Final Action Dates chart.

Monitor updates. Check the Policy Alerts page and the USCIS EB-5 pages regularly, or ask your attorney to.

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G (Investors), Volume 7 and Volume 10; USCIS Policy Alerts of October 26, 2023, July 2024, August 2025 and December 2025; USCIS, EB-5 Questions and Answers; 91 FR 61940; EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-103, Division BB); Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 203(b)(5).