EB-5 Reserved Visa: Rural TEA, High Unemployment TEA and Infrastructure explained for investors

The EB-5 Reserved Visa is a visa allocation mechanism established by theEB-5 Reform and Integrity Act 2022 (RIA)to set aside 32% of the roughly 10,000 EB-5 visas issued each year for three priority project groups. For Vietnamese investors, it is one of the most important tools for shortening the path from an I-526E petition to a green card, especially compared with the Unreserved category, which is under backlog pressure from demand in China and India.

The mechanism is set out in INA 203(b)(5)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and applies to allVisa EB-5filed from 15/03/2022 onwards. Understanding the three Reserved groups clearly is a prerequisite for investors to weigh cost, processing speed and project risk correctly.

The structure of the 32% EB-5 Reserved Visa quota

Of the roughly 10,000 EB-5 visas issued each fiscal year, the RIA divides the quota into two blocks: 32% Reserved and 68%Unreserved. The 32% Reserved portion is further split into three groups at fixed ratios:

• 20% for projects in rural areas (Rural TEA), equivalent to about 2,000 visas a year.
• 10% for projects in high-unemployment areas (High Unemployment TEA), equivalent to about 1,000 visas a year.
• 2% for public infrastructure projects managed by government agencies (Infrastructure), equivalent to about 200 visas a year.

According toU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Reserved visas not used in a fiscal year carry over to the following year within the same group. After two consecutive years of not being fully used, the leftover visas revert to the Unreserved category. This carry-over mechanism created a large surplus of visas in the early phase of RIA implementation, when USCIS had not yet been able to adjudicate I-526E petitions at a matching scale.

The minimum investment for all three Reserved groups is $800,000 USD, $250,000 USD lower than the $1,050,000 USD level outside atargeted employment area (TEA) under EB-5. This threshold is fixed until the end of 2026 and will be adjusted in line with CPI-U from 01/01/2027.

Rural TEA — the Reserved category with the biggest advantage

A Rural TEA is defined as a project area outside a Metropolitan Statistical Area and outside the boundaries of any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more according to the most recent federal census. This definition is set out in INA 203(b)(5)(B)(ii) and is the sole legal basis for determining whether a project qualifies for the Reserved Rural mechanism.

According to USCIS guidance on EB-5 classification, rural areas typically include small towns, agricultural regions, and coastal or mountain resort areas outside urban clusters. Some hotel, food-processing, renewable energy and logistics projects in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and California meet this criterion.

The first advantage of Rural TEA is the highest visa share of the three Reserved groups (20% compared with 10% and 2%). This means it is likely to stay current in the Visa Bulletin longer than the other groups, even if demand from China and India rises sharply.

The second advantage is priority processing. The RIA requires USCIS to put Rural I-526E petitions at the front of the adjudication queue. According to actual data from 2024 to early 2026, many Rural petitions were approved within 4 to 12 months of filing, significantly faster than the historical EB-5 average.

On the other hand, Rural TEA also carries specific operational risks. Rural projects often struggle with skilled labour supply, construction costs higher than expected because of a lack of local suppliers, and liquidity risk if the local market is small. Vietnamese investors should pay particular attention to the long-term business model and capital repayment capacity of a Rural project, not just the visa advantage.

High Unemployment TEA — balancing speed and project choice

A High Unemployment TEA is a project area with an unemployment rate at least 150% of the national average at the time of investment. Under INA 203(b)(5)(B)(ii), the area is defined by census tract, or a group of contiguous census tracts where the new commercial enterprise (NCE) principally operates.

The definition of a High Unemployment TEA after the RIA is significantly narrower than the rules before 2022. Previously, some states could set TEA boundaries themselves by combining multiple non-contiguous census tracts. The old mechanism allowed TEAs to be “drawn” around high-end projects in city centres to benefit from the lower investment threshold. The RIA ended this practice by requiring the area to consist of the project’s census tract and the directly adjacent census tracts.

The effect of redesigning TEAs is that most current High Unemployment TEA projects are located in economically struggling urban areas, or on the outskirts of large cities where unemployment reaches the 150% threshold. Common project types in this group include hotels, rental apartments, shopping centres and healthcare.

The High Unemployment category has two important features. First, its 10% quota (about 1,000 visas a year) is significantly lower than Rural, making it prone to backlog if demand from countries other than Vietnam rises. Second, USCIS is not required to prioritise this group as it does Rural, so I-526E adjudication usually takes longer, averaging 18 to 24 months according to post-RIA processing data.

For Vietnamese investors, the High Unemployment TEA remains an attractive choice thanks to the $800,000 USD threshold, a wide variety of projects in familiar urban markets, and the chance of a current Priority Date in recent Visa Bulletins. However, watch for retrogression warnings that the US Department of State often includes in Visa Bulletin notes before applying an official cut-off date.

Infrastructure — a specialised category with the smallest quota

Infrastructure is an entirely new Reserved category that only appeared after the RIA took effect. As defined in the INA, an infrastructure project must be administered by a federal, state or local government agency and relate to the financing, maintenance, improvement or construction of public works. The scope includes transport systems, water supply and drainage, energy, public education facilities and public service projects.

The 2% quota (about 200 visas a year) makes Infrastructure the smallest of the three Reserved groups. Notably, even when investing through an infrastructure project, investors must still go through a USCIS-designated regional centre, because the structure of Infrastructure projects requires the indirect job-counting mechanism handled by the regional centre.

Two particular factors make Infrastructure uncommon in practice. First, very few projects genuinely meet the “administered by a government agency” criterion, because most infrastructure projects in the United States are financed through public bonds and do not fit the EB-5 structure. Second, USCIS’s adjudication criteria for Infrastructure still contain many unclear points, creating higher legal risk for investors in the early phase of RIA implementation.

For these reasons, Infrastructure is usually not a priority choice for Vietnamese families, unless there is a specific project whose Form I-956F has been approved by USCIS and which has solid legal documentation. For most investors, Rural and High Unemployment TEAs remain the more viable routes.

Visa Bulletin status

According to the US Department of State Visa Bulletin, all three EB-5 Reserved Visa categories — Rural, High Unemployment and Infrastructure — are “Current” for all countries, including Vietnam, mainland China and India. Current status means investors can proceed to visa issuance or file an I-485 as soon as the I-526E is approved, without waiting in line for a Priority Date.

However, the US Department of State has warned in recent Visa Bulletins of possible retrogression at the end of fiscal year 2026 or early 2027 for the High Unemployment group, because of accumulated demand from China and India. Rural is expected to stay current the longest thanks to its larger quota and priority processing.

For Vietnamese investors, the practical meaning of these Visa Bulletin signals is this: the timeframe for deciding to file an EB-5 Reserved Visa petition should be shortened if the goal is to make the most of current status, especially for the High Unemployment group.

Comparing the three EB-5 Reserved Visa groups for your investment decision

When weighing the three EB-5 Reserved Visa groups, investors need to assess three factors together: visa capacity, processing speed and the project’s risk profile. Rural TEA leads on capacity and speed, but requires careful due diligence on local commercial viability.

High Unemployment TEA opens up a more diverse range of urban projects, but faces the pressure of a small quota and has no priority processing. Infrastructure suits investors with a low appetite for commercial risk who are willing to accept legal uncertainty in the early phase of RIA implementation.

Beyond the features of each group, investors also need to consider the regional centre itself. Criteria for choosing aRegional Center EB-5include its legal record, I-956F processing history, capital structure, repayment model and experience working with Vietnamese investors. A good Reserved Visa project within a weak regional centre still carries the risk of capital loss or termination of designation.

Source of funds documentation also plays a decisive role. Whichever Reserved group is chosen, investors must fully meet the requirements forEB-5 source and path of funds (SOF/POF)under the RIA’s enhanced standards. Incomplete source of funds documentation is one of the leading reasons USCIS issues RFEs on, or denies, I-526E petitions.

An implementation roadmap for Vietnamese investors

For Vietnamese families considering the EB-5 Reserved Visa in 2026, three foundational preparation steps are decisive for success. The first is to identify the right Reserved group based on budget, settlement goals, children’s ages and risk appetite. Families withchildren under 21who are close to ageing out of protection should prioritise Rural to benefit from fast adjudication.

The second step is due diligence on the regional centre and the specific project, including reviewing the project’s economic report, whether its I-956F has been approved by USCIS, its Integrity Fund payment history and any terminations of designation. The third step is preparing source of funds and path of funds documentation to RIA standards, especially for funds from business in Vietnam, inheritance or asset transfers.

The EB-5 Reserved Visa is a key mechanism shaping the US investment green card route in the post-RIA era. Choosing the right Reserved group and the right project can shorten the settlement timeline from 5–7 years to 3–4 years for Vietnamese investors, while opening up the possibility of Concurrent Filing with an I-485 for those already in the United States on a valid visa.