I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor
ALERT: Beginning Sept. 1, 2022, we will no longer accept a single, combined fee payment when an applicant or petitioner files Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor, or Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor, together with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Form 131, Application for Travel Document, or Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Petitioners may combine the fee payment for Forms I-485, I-131 and I-765. However, petitioners must send a separate fee payment for Form I-526 or Form I-526E.
If a petitioner or applicant submits a single, combined fee payment for Forms I-526 or I-526E and the other forms, we will reject the forms for improper fee payment and return the fee.
Alert: Starting July 12, 2022, we are accepting the new Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by a Standalone Investor.
Starting July 12, 2022, we are accepting the new Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by a Standalone Investor.
We will adjudicate all Forms I-526 filed before March 15, 2022 (the date of the enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022), according to the applicable eligibility requirements at the time the petition was filed. We will continue to process Forms I-526 under the visa availability approach, prioritizing petitions for investors with an available visa or a visa that will be available soon.
EB-5 Investors Associated with a Regional Center
If you are filing a petition based on the new EB-5 Regional Center Program, then you must submit Form I-526E.
USCIS Announces Changes to the EB-5 Program
On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, which revised INA 203(b)(5).
If you filed Form I-526 before March 15, 2022, we will adjudicate your form under the regulations in effect before Nov. 21, 2019. Please see USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part G, Investors, for an explanation of those regulations. On June 22, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in Behring Regional Center LLC v. Wolf, 20-cv-09263-JSC, vacated (voided) the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Final Rule. Because that rule was voided, the following changes are in effect for petitions filed before March 15, 2022: there is no priority date retention (previously provided in the voided rule), state designations of targeted employment areas are permitted, and the investment amounts are $1 million for standard cases and $500,000 for targeted employment areas. For petitions filed after March 15, 2022, however, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 raises the investment amounts to $1,050,000 for standard cases and $800,000 for targeted employment areas. The same statute redefines those targeted employment areas.
The form is used by a standalone investor to petition USCIS for status as an immigrant to the United States under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended.
What This Form Can Help You Do
Form Details
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Please check our Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Standalone Investor, and Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor, page for information on where to mail your petition. Petitions that are not submitted to the correct address may experience processing delays.
Filing Tips: Go to our Form Filing Tips page for information on how to help ensure we will accept your form.
Don’t forget to sign your form. We will reject and return any unsigned form.
You may pay the fee with a money order, personal check, or cashier’s check. When filing at a USCIS lockbox, you may also pay by credit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. If you pay by check, you must make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
When you send a payment, you agree to pay for a government service. Filing and biometric service fees are final and non-refundable, regardless of any action we take on your application, petition, or request, or if you withdraw your request. Use our Fee Calculator to help determine your fee.
Forms I-526 and I-526E that are properly filed will receive two separate receipt notices. The first notice you should expect to receive will be from the USCIS Lockbox, acknowledging receipt of your I-526 or I-526E and the total fee amount received and processed.
We will then issue a formal receipt notice that includes the assigned receipt number for the application when data entry has been completed.