DHS Proposes EB-5 Rules That Would Raise Investment Minimums, Tighten Job Creation Rules, and Expand Regional Center Oversight

On July 1, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a sweeping proposed rule that would comprehensively implement the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 for the first time through formal regulation. Since the RIA was enacted in March 2022, USCIS has been operating under a combination of policy guidance, interim procedures, and informal practice. This proposed rule changes that by translating the statute's reforms into binding regulatory language that would govern every aspect of the EB-5 program from regional center compliance to investor protections to job creation methodology.

The proposal is open for public comment for 60 days following its July 2 Federal Register publication. No changes are in effect yet. But what DHS is proposing signals clearly where the program is heading and several provisions deserve careful attention from investors, regional centers, and developers alike.

What Is Actually Being Proposed

The proposed rule covers an enormous amount of ground. Here are the developments most relevant to investors evaluating or already in the EB-5 program.

1. Investment Minimums Are Confirmed.

What is new is a proposed increase in the minimum investment for high employment areas (areas where the unemployment rate is at least 150% of the national average) from $1,050,000 to $1,400,000. This would be the first time high employment areas are formally defined and assigned a separate, higher investment threshold. The rule also confirms that automatic inflation adjustments will take effect beginning January 2027 and every five years thereafter.

For investors currently targeting TEA projects at $800,000, none of this changes the current requirements. But it clarifies what the regulatory landscape looks like going forward, and it reinforces why filing before the January 2027 threshold adjustment matters.

2. Expanded Enforcement Authority

One of the most significant structural changes in the proposed rule is the formal expansion of DHS enforcement authority. USCIS would gain explicit regulatory authority to deny or revoke EB-5 petitions based on fraud, material misrepresentation, criminal misuse, or national security concerns. The agency could also suspend, debar, or terminate regional centers and associated parties, and impose monetary penalties for violations.

For investors, the more important question is what happens to a good-faith investor when the regional center or developer is the one that committed misconduct. The proposed rule includes specific investor protection provisions designed to address exactly this scenario. Investors affected by regional center termination, new commercial enterprise debarment, or job-creating entity debarment would be able to preserve eligibility by filing amendments and maintaining compliance with program requirements. Priority dates would also be retained in qualifying circumstances, something the current program has handled inconsistently.

These protections are necessary for investors. One of the most disruptive risks in EB-5 has historically been the possibility that an investor's green card process could be derailed by problems entirely outside their control. The proposed rule attempts to formalize the firewall between investor compliance and sponsor misconduct.

3. Regional Center Compliance Gets Significantly More Demanding

For regional centers, the proposed rule substantially expands compliance obligations:

• Enhanced monitoring and oversight procedures

• Annual compliance reporting

• Mandatory audits and site visits at least every five years

• Expanded record keeping, reporting of material changes to ownership or management

• New fund administration and accounting controls.

The rule also introduces a formal registration framework for EB-5 promoters, including migration agents and third-party marketing representatives, for the first time. Promoters would be required to register with USCIS, disclose compensation arrangements, maintain written agreements with investors, follow anti-fraud requirements, and accurately describe EB-5 benefits and risks. Violations could result in suspension or permanent debarment from the program.

4. Job Creation Rules Are Tightened

The proposed rule modifies several longstanding job creation policies in ways that will affect how projects are structured and documented going forward. Full-time employment is formally defined as at least 35 hours per week. Job-sharing arrangements would be eliminated. The troubled business pathway, which allowed investors to qualify by preserving existing jobs at financially distressed companies rather than creating new ones, would be eliminated entirely. DHS notes that this pathway has historically accounted for less than 1% of petitions and does not align with the program's core job creation objective. The rule also raises the bar on economic methodology, requiring transparent and economically valid job creation models and limiting reliance on indirect job creation in certain scenarios.

5. Bridge Financing Faces Scrutiny

One of the more consequential proposals for project developers is DHS's stated intention to restrict or eliminate bridge financing,  the common practice where developers begin construction using short-term loans and later repay those loans with EB-5 investment capital. DHS has argued that jobs attributed to bridge loans may not have a sufficiently direct connection to immigrant investor funds, and that the practice has created adjudication challenges.

DHS is seeking public comment on this specific issue rather than proposing an outright prohibition at this stage. But the signal is clear. Investors evaluating projects that rely heavily on bridge financing should ask directly how the project's job creation methodology would be affected if that practice is restricted in the final rule.

6. Cryptocurrency as a Source of Funds

The proposed rule addresses the growing use of digital assets in EB-5 filings. DHS is not proposing to prohibit cryptocurrency-derived wealth as a source of EB-5 investment funds but it is formalizing the evidentiary standards that apply to it. Investors using digital assets must clearly demonstrate that those assets were lawfully acquired and transferred, providing account ownership documentation, transaction histories, tax records, and conversion documentation.

A Bigger Picture of This Proposal

The proposed rule is not yet in effect. Current EB-5 filings continue to be governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act, the RIA, existing regulations, and current USCIS policy guidance. Nothing in this proposal changes the requirements for petitions filed today.

What it does change is the forward-looking picture. All of these proposals point toward a more rigorously regulated program. For investors, that is generally a positive development: a more transparent and compliant program with stronger investor protections is a more reliable one. But it also means that regional centers and projects that have been operating in the grey areas of the current framework will face more scrutiny as these regulations take effect.

The 60-day comment period will close in early September 2026. Regional centers, developers, investors, and immigration practitioners are encouraged to participate in that process to ensure the final rule reflects practical implementation realities.

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