EB-5 Investment Amount Increase: What Changes After September 2026
Federal law requires USCIS to adjust the EB-5 minimum investment amounts every five years based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The next adjustment is projected for January 1, 2027. Based on CPI-U data through January 2026, the TEA minimum is expected to rise from $800,000 to approximately $900,000, and the standard minimum from $1,050,000 to approximately $1,200,000.
Investors who file I-526E before September 30, 2026 lock in the current amounts under the grandfathering provision.
Key Takeaways
- 1The TEA minimum is projected to increase from $800,000 to approximately $900,000 (a $100,000 increase).
- 2The standard (non-TEA) minimum is projected to increase from $1,050,000 to approximately $1,200,000 (a $150,000 increase).
- 3Filing I-526E before September 30, 2026 locks in today's investment amounts under RIA Section 104(a).
- 4The CPI-U adjustment is automatic under federal law. USCIS does not need new legislation to implement the increase.
- 5This will be the third investment amount change in EB-5 program history, following increases in 2019 and 2022.
Current Investment Amounts (2026)
| Category | Amount | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|
| TEA (Rural, HUA, Infrastructure) | $800,000 | March 15, 2022 |
| Standard (Non-TEA) | $1,050,000 | March 15, 2022 |
These amounts were established by the Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), which replaced the previous amounts set by DHS regulation in November 2019. The RIA codified the investment thresholds into statute for the first time, removing USCIS discretion over the base amounts.
How the CPI-U Adjustment Works
Section 106(d) of the RIA added INA Section 203(b)(5)(C)(iii), which mandates that USCIS adjust the minimum investment amounts every five years beginning on January 1, 2027. The adjustment uses the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The formula is straightforward. USCIS takes the baseline CPI-U value from the month the RIA was enacted (March 2022, CPI-U = 287.504) and compares it to the most recent CPI-U value available before the adjustment date. The percentage change is applied to both the TEA and standard investment amounts, and the result is rounded to the nearest $10,000.
Adjustment Formula
New Amount = Base Amount × (Current CPI-U ÷ Baseline CPI-U)
Rounded to nearest $10,000 | Baseline: March 2022 (CPI-U 287.504) | Latest: January 2026 (CPI-U 325.252)
The statute specifies "the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers" as the adjustment mechanism. Congress chose CPI-U because it is the broadest measure of consumer inflation, covering approximately 93% of the U.S. population. This makes the EB-5 adjustment tied directly to the purchasing power of the invested capital.
Projected 2027 Investment Amounts
| Category | Current | Projected | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEA | $800,000 | $900,000 | +$100,000 |
| Standard | $1,050,000 | $1,200,000 | +$150,000 |
These projections assume the CPI-U value at the time of USCIS calculation is close to the January 2026 reading of 325.252. The actual adjusted amounts will depend on the CPI-U data USCIS uses when it performs the official calculation. The projections will be updated as new CPI-U data is released by BLS.
Historical Investment Amount Changes
| Year | TEA Amount | Standard Amount | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | IMMACT90 (P.L. 101-649) |
| 2019 | $900,000 | $1,800,000 | DHS Final Rule (Nov 21, 2019) |
| 2022 | $800,000 | $1,050,000 | RIA (P.L. 117-103, Mar 15, 2022) |
| 2027 (proj.) | $900,000 | $1,200,000 | CPI-U adjustment (INA § 203(b)(5)(C)(iii)) |
The original $500,000 TEA and $1,000,000 standard amounts set by Congress in 1990 remained unchanged for nearly 30 years. DHS raised the amounts by regulation in November 2019, but those increases were superseded when the RIA established new statutory amounts in March 2022. The 2022 amounts actually lowered the TEA minimum from $900,000 back to $800,000, while reducing the standard from $1,800,000 to $1,050,000.
The 2027 adjustment will be the first time the CPI-U mechanism is triggered. Unlike the 2019 regulatory increase (which required a formal DHS rulemaking), the CPI-U adjustment is automatic under statute. USCIS must publish the new amounts but does not need to go through a notice-and-comment rulemaking process.
What Happens If You Already Filed (Grandfathering)
RIA Section 104(a) provides explicit grandfathering protection. If your I-526E petition was properly filed before September 30, 2026, USCIS will evaluate your petition under the investment amounts and rules in effect at the time you filed. Your required investment remains $800,000 (TEA) or $1,050,000 (standard) even if the amounts increase during adjudication.
Grandfathering covers the full lifecycle of your case. It protects not just the I-526E petition but also subsequent stages, including adjustment of status (I-485), consular processing, and conditions removal (I-829). An investor who files before the deadline does not need to worry about investment amount changes at any stage.
The key requirement is that the petition must be "properly filed." This means USCIS received the petition with the correct filing fee and issued a receipt notice (Form I-797C). The filing date on the receipt notice is what counts, not the date you mailed the petition or the date USCIS began adjudication.
What Happens If You File After the Increase
Investors who file on or after the CPI-U adjustment date must meet the new minimum amounts. There is no grace period. If USCIS publishes the adjusted amounts effective January 1, 2027, any I-526E petition filed on or after that date must demonstrate investment of at least $900,000 (TEA) or $1,200,000 (standard).
For investors planning to file in 2027, this means budgeting for a larger capital commitment. The additional $100,000 (TEA) or $150,000 (standard) is not trivial, particularly when combined with administrative fees, legal fees, and USCIS filing fees that bring total out-of-pocket costs well above the minimum investment amount.
There is also a practical consideration: regional center projects structured around the current $800,000 minimum may need to adjust their offering documents and capital stack to accommodate the higher amount. Investors filing after the increase should confirm that their chosen project has been updated to reflect the new minimum.
Filing Strategy Implications
The approaching investment increase creates a clear strategic window for prospective EB-5 investors. Filing before September 30, 2026 saves approximately $100,000 in required capital for TEA projects. For many investors, that amount represents the difference between feasibility and infeasibility.
The timeline pressure is real. A typical I-526E filing requires 14 to 40 weeks of preparation depending on the complexity of source-of-funds documentation and country of origin. Investors who begin the process in mid-2026 face the risk of not completing documentation before the deadline.
For investors who cannot file before the deadline, the increase does not change the fundamental economics of the program. The EB-5 investment is still intended to be returned after conditions removal. The higher minimum increases the capital at risk but does not increase non-recoverable costs such as USCIS filing fees, administrative fees, or legal fees. For a full cost breakdown, see the EB-5 investor costs guide.
What This Means for Investors
- 1Filing I-526E before September 30, 2026 saves approximately $100,000 in required TEA investment capital. This is the single largest financial incentive for early filing.
- 2Investors planning to file after the increase should budget for the higher minimum and confirm their chosen project accommodates the adjusted amount.
- 3The CPI-U adjustment recurs every five years. After 2027, the next adjustment would occur in 2032. Each cycle compounds the increase.
- 4Source-of-funds documentation becomes more complex at higher investment amounts. More capital means more financial records to trace and verify.
What Could Change Next
- USCIS has not yet published the official adjusted amounts. The final numbers could differ from projections if the CPI-U index changes significantly before the calculation date.
- Congress could amend the adjustment mechanism or the base amounts before January 2027, though this is unlikely given current legislative priorities.
- If the regional center program authorization expires on September 30, 2027 without reauthorization, the investment amount increase would still apply to direct EB-5 filings but regional center filings would be suspended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
How this data was calculated
Investment amount projections are calculated by applying the CPI-U percentage change (from the BLS baseline to the latest available reading) to the statutory base amounts, then rounding to the nearest $10,000 as required by INA Section 203(b)(5)(C)(iii).