The Trump administration is proposing significant fee cuts for the federal government’s most controversial investor-visa program, even as critics warn the EB-5 system remains plagued by fraud, national-security risks, and a decades-long history of political influence.
A new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule, docket USCIS-2025-0139, would reduce several key fees associated with EB-5 investor petitions and create a new “technology fee” to help fund the program’s modernization.
Public comment on the proposal closes December 22. As of Monday, only 13 comments had been submitted.
The EB-5 program allows foreign nationals to obtain legal status by investing at least $800,000 in job-creating U.S. projects.
The program has historically received bipartisan support from lawmakers whose districts depend on its low-interest financing for developers. However, it has faced significant scrutiny due to numerous fraud cases, national security concerns, and allegations of preferential treatment towards well-connected real estate interests.
Texas Connections and Cornyn’s Past Support
Texas has been a major beneficiary of EB-5 capital, particularly in Houston and Dallas.
In a 2021 floor speech, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) described EB-5 as a “major economic driver” that brings “billions of dollars” of investment to both major cities and rural communities.
“I’m a supporter of the EB-5 program and its resources it delivers to the community,” Cornyn said on his website at the time, while acknowledging that the program “could stand some reforms.” Cornyn ultimately voted for a 2022 legislative package, supported by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), that reformed oversight and other aspects of the EB-5 program.
Texas has also seen some of the most high-profile EB-5-related fraud cases in the country, according to a catalog compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
In 2018, a group of three developers from Houston agreed to settle federal charges for misusing funds from 90 Chinese investors, as revealed by the catalog. In McAllen, the SEC intervened in a 2013 scheme in which promoters raised at least $5 million by falsely assuring investors that their money would qualify for EB-5 visas. Instead, the funds were used to pay unrelated debts and purchase luxury vehicles. Additionally, an entry related to Austin indicates that in 2015, a law firm agreed to cease operations as an unregistered broker after offering EB-5 investments without proper authorization.
A Program Long Under Fire
The EB-5 program faced national headlines as far back as 2015, when ABC News reported that lobbying from real estate interests helped block bipartisan reforms intended to address national-security vulnerabilities and fraud. Senators, including Grassley and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), warned at the time that the program had been “hijacked” by wealthy developers in high-end markets that were never meant to qualify as high-unemployment investment zones.
Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Cornyn were credited as forming the successful opposition front to the bill.
Despite reforms added in the Biden era, federal watchdogs have said major vulnerabilities remain.
A 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that USCIS still lacked key data on the types of fraud occurring within the program and the reasons petitions were denied, or regional centers were shut down, gaps that limited the agency’s ability to detect emerging risks. GAO recommended systemic tracking of fraud types, better data collection, and enhanced monitoring.
Separately, a 2023 analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies highlighted another red flag: from mid-2021 through early 2023, USCIS denied 53% of all EB-5 investor petitions, an extraordinarily high rejection rate for a federal program that typically once saw the vast majority of applications approved. The denial rate hit 84% in late 2021 and remained above 50% for much of the next two years.
Proposed Fee Reductions Arrive Despite Persistent Risk Concerns
Under DHS’s new proposal, several EB-5 fees would be reduced rather than increased, a striking shift given the program’s heavy oversight costs. The DHS docket notice says the rule is intended to align fees with the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 and to ensure the program is “adequately funded.”
The proposal includes:
- Lower fees for initial EB-5 investor petitions
- Reduced fees for certain regional center filings
- Creation of a small “EB-5 technology fee”
- Clarification of new integrity fund penalties
- Introduction of Form I-527 to replace the legacy I-526 amendment process
The agency’s docket notice argues the changes will improve efficiency and provide stable funding for compliance reviews, site visits, and other fraud-prevention tools mandated by Congress.
The text of the Biden-era EB–5 Reform and Integrity Act requires periodic adjustments to fees “at a level sufficient to ensure the full recovery only of the costs of providing such services,” but affords DHS some discretion in determining the levels and when to carry out the adjustments.
What Comes Next
Some commenters, such as the Citizens Rulemaking Alliance, have filed comments arguing that the rulemaking process surrounding this fee adjustment is procedurally unsound and contrary to several federal administrative laws.
Another commenter, Robert Divine, argued that the proposed reduced fees are still “outrageous.”
USCIS is accepting public comment through December 22. After that, the agency can finalize the rule at any time.
