If you are seriously considering EB-5, you are working against a date that is now less than three months away. The grandfathering protection that locks in today’s programme rules applies only to investors who file Form I-526E on or before September 30, 2026. Most prospective investors focus on the deadline itself. The more useful question is what has to happen before it, and in what order.
The instinct is to start by comparing projects. That is the step most investors reach for first, and it is the wrong place to begin. The work that actually sets your timeline is slower and less visible: documenting where your money came from, and preparing a petition to a standard that has moved considerably in the last year. Get the order wrong, and you may lose weeks you do not have.
The guidance that follows comes from the EB-5 Essentials panel: Ignacio Donoso, Managing Partner at Donoso and Partners LLC; Aarushi Gupta, Managing Director, India Operations, at Donoso and Partners LLC; Rohit Turkhud, Member at Chiesa Shahinian and Giantomasi PC (CSG Law); and Akshat Gupta, Vice President of Business Development at US Immigration Fund (USIF). What follows draws directly on that conversation and on what they are seeing with their own clients today.
EB-5 Grandfathering Deadline: Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, any investor who files their I-526E petition on or before September 30, 2026, will have their case governed by the current programme rules, regardless of what changes to the programme after that date. For prospective investors, this makes the September 30, 2026, filing date the most consequential deadline in the programme’s current form.
The programme is not ending. It is authorised through September 30, 2027. The significance of the earlier date is the grandfathering clause: file your petition on or before September 30, 2026, and the rules that govern your case are locked to what they are today, whatever happens in the next reauthorisation. Wait, and you accept whatever the programme looks like afterward.
That is why the panel treats the date as a planning anchor rather than a marketing countdown. The question is not whether to file eventually. It is whether you can be ready to file in time, and readiness is a function of the steps below.
Akshat Gupta lays this out as three steps, taken in a deliberate order. The order is the point: most investors do them backwards.
“this is a five to six year long relationship probably even greater than that.”
— Akshat Gupta, US Immigration Fund
A short way to remember it: attorney first, source of funds next, projects in parallel. The category of project matters less at this stage than getting these three moving.
The urgency is not manufactured. In the last six months, USCIS has changed core EB-5 rules more than in the previous ten years, according to Ignacio Donoso, Managing Partner at Donoso and Partners LLC, who has practised in the field for nearly twenty years. The new requirements are unfamiliar and demanding, and documenting a case to meet them takes dedicated time.
“Sometimes the door is open and if it’s open and if it fits your needs, take advantage of that opportunity because eventually the door will close.”
— Ignacio Donoso, Donoso and Partners LLC
The practical consequence is simple. The terms you may file under today are in front of you now. After the deadline, the programme may continue on different terms, and neither outcome is certain. Time spent waiting for clarity is time taken away from preparation.
Source of funds is the part investors most often underestimate, and it is the part that decides when you are able to file. You cannot fund and file until your $800,000 is documented as qualified source of funds. Selecting a project and completing due diligence does not change that. The documentation comes first.
This is the reason the attorney work and the project search run in parallel. If you wait to start source of funds until after you have chosen a project, you have simply moved the slowest step to the end, where there is the least time for it. Begin it now, and the project decision slots into a timeline that is already moving.
In plain terms: the project you pick does not make you ready to file. Your documented source of funds does.
Two of the largest numbers in an EB-5 case do not move. Aarushi Gupta puts the standard plainly.
“there is no compromise to service, there is no compromise to quality.”
— Aarushi Gupta, Donoso and Partners LLC
The investment amount is set by the programme. The government filing fee is set by the government. The one fee that varies is the attorney’s, and it is the one many investors try to shop down. That is the wrong instinct, because your immigration attorney is your point of contact for the next five to seven years, and the strength of your petition depends on the quality of that work.
“Your $800,000 is non-negotiable. Your USCIS filing fee is non-negotiable.”
— Rohit Turkhud, Chiesa Shahinian and Giantomasi PC (CSG Law)
| Cost or decision | Is it negotiable? |
| $800,000 qualifying investment | No. Set by the programme. |
| USCIS filing fee | No. Set by the government. |
| Your immigration attorney | The fee varies, but this is the wrong place to choose on price. |
| Your regional centre and project | Choose on project quality, not the lowest price. |
The same principle, applied to the regional centre, produces a clear red flag. Some regional centres encourage investors to send the money first and handle the documentation afterward. Rohit Turkhud is direct about it.
“there are regional centers out there who might encourage you to say, send the money, we’ll take care of things later. That is not the right approach.”
— Rohit Turkhud, CSG Law
There are two reasons to treat that as a signal to walk away. Once the money is wired, you do not control what happens to it. And you do not know whether you will be able to recover it when you want to. The correct order is fixed: prepare your source of funds, then fund and file.
For an investor adjusting status inside the United States, the work permit and travel permit arrive on the same schedule in every set-aside category. The category should therefore not be the deciding factor. What should decide it is the quality of the project and the credibility of the people running it. The goal is not the fastest brochure. It is a project you are comfortable committing to for years.
That is why the panel’s advice circles back to the same place. Choose a regional centre on the strength of the project, not on who will take your money fastest or at the lowest price. The category strategy can be refined with your attorney once the foundational steps are underway.
Schedule a consultation today to understand your options and build a plan that works for your goals.
The first step is to consult an immigration attorney, confirm EB-5 fits your goals, and begin documenting your source of funds, while reviewing projects from different regional centres at the same time. According to Akshat Gupta, Vice President of Business Development at US Immigration Fund, attorneys have finite hours, so starting early gives them the time needed to prepare your petition properly. He describes the regional centre choice as a five to six year relationship, often longer. Engaging the attorney first, rather than after you have picked a project, is what keeps the timeline workable.
No. Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, the programme is authorised through September 30, 2027. Investors who file Form I-526E on or before September 30, 2026, are grandfathered, meaning their cases are governed by current programme rules regardless of future changes. Ignacio Donoso, Managing Partner at Donoso and Partners LLC, advises filing before that deadline rather than waiting to see what changes after it.
There is no fixed number, and it depends on the complexity of your finances, but it is the step that most often sets the overall timeline. You cannot fund and file until your $800,000 is documented as qualified source of funds. Akshat Gupta of US Immigration Fund explains that even after selecting a project and completing due diligence, an investor is not ready to fund and file until the source of funds is prepared, which is why the attorneys advise starting it immediately.
Choose on fit and the strength of the petition, not on the lowest fee. Rohit Turkhud, Member at Chiesa Shahinian and Giantomasi PC (CSG Law), notes that the $800,000 investment and the USCIS filing fee are fixed costs that do not change based on the attorney you work with. Your immigration attorney is your point of contact for the next five to seven years, so negotiating down that relationship to save a small fraction of the total rarely serves the outcome.
No. Rohit Turkhud of CSG Law warns that a regional centre encouraging you to wire funds first and sort out documentation later is a warning sign. Once the money is sent, you do not control what happens to it, and you may not be able to recover it when you want to. The correct sequence is to prepare and document your source of funds first, then fund and file.
Akshat Gupta is Vice President of Business Development at US Immigration Fund, where he works with EB-5 investors across India, the UAE, and other markets. He focuses on investor education and guiding prospective applicants through the EB-5 process.
Ignacio Donoso is Managing Partner at Donoso and Partners LLC, an immigration law firm. He has practised US immigration and investment-based immigration law for nearly twenty years.
Aarushi Gupta is Managing Director, India Operations, at Donoso and Partners LLC. She advises EB-5 investors on petition preparation and source of funds documentation.
Rohit Turkhud is a Member at Chiesa Shahinian and Giantomasi PC (CSG Law). He advises investors and regional centres on EB-5 and investment-based immigration.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. The EB-5 programme involves risk, including potential loss of capital. Immigration outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Consult a qualified US immigration attorney and registered investment advisor before making any decisions. Information is current as of publication date and subject to change.
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