Homeland Security to Publish Proposed EB-5 Rule Implementing the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act

On July 2, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to publish a proposed rule that updates the EB-5 investor Green Card program.

The rule would put into effect the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), the law Congress passed to reform the program.

If finalized, the rule would:

• Reorganize the EB-5 regulations into a new section and add or clarify key definitions.
• Set clear investment amounts: $1,050,000 for a standard investment, $800,000 for investments in a targeted employment area (a rural or high-unemployment area) or an infrastructure project, and a new $1,400,000 tier for high-employment (low-unemployment) areas. These amounts would automatically adjust for inflation starting January 1, 2027.
• Set the investment period, requiring an investor's money to stay invested for at least two years.
• Keep the job-creation rule at 10 full-time U.S. jobs per investor, but tighten the proof and end the use of repaid bridge financing to show those jobs were created.
• End "troubled businesses" as a way to qualify.
• Update rules on targeted employment areas (TEAs), infrastructure projects, and regional center duties.
• Change the steps for removing conditions on green cards, withdrawing petitions, and revoking petitions.
• Expand how DHS enforces the rules, adding audits, fines, suspensions, debarments, and terminations, plus registration for promoters who market EB-5 projects.

In the proposal, DHS also asks the public to weigh in on EB-5 audits, how to define high-unemployment areas, redeploying investor capital, and requirements for promoters.

DHS says the goal is to match the EB-5 regulations to the changes Congress made in the RIA, while making the program more transparent and consistent for investors, regional centers, new commercial enterprises, and job-creating businesses.

For now, this is only a draft. It could still change before the official version appears in the Federal Register. You can read the unofficial version here.

Investors, regional centers, developers, and EB-5 attorneys should watch this closely. Once the rule is officially published, the public will get a chance to submit comments before DHS finalizes it. Our firm will keep tracking this process and share updates as it moves forward.