Form I-526E EB-5: the Regional Center investor visa petition and how to complete it

Form I-526E EB-5 is the immigrant visa petition for investors investing through a regional centre, established byU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)after theEB-5 Reform and Integrity Act 2022 (RIA)took effect on 15/03/2022. Its full name is the Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor, under INA 203(b)(5)(E).

For the vast majority of Vietnamese investors joining theVisa EB-5through the Regional Center channel, Form I-526E EB-5 is the first and most important legal document in the entire roadmap. This petition determines whether USCIS classifies the investor as eligible for EB-5, paving the way for visa issuance, the conditional green card and the later removal of conditions.

Learn more about FormI-526 Direct.

Who Form I-526E EB-5 is for

Under official USCIS guidance, Form I-526E EB-5 only applies to investors who meet all three of the following conditions. First, the investor invests through a USCIS-designated Regional Center, not directly in their own business. Second, the investment project must already have an I-956F (Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise) filed beforehand by the regional centre. Third, the petition is filed on or after 15/03/2022.

For investors investing directly in their own business (Direct), the applicable form is the I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor), not the I-526E. The difference between the two forms reflects two different routes within theEB-5 Direct vs Regional Center, which both lead to a green card but have separate vetting processes.

According to actual post-RIA data, about 90–95% of EB-5 investors worldwide choose the Regional Center channel and therefore file this petition. The share in Vietnam is even higher because of local investment preferences and the complexity of the Direct model.

The relationship between Form I-526E EB-5 and Form I-956F

An important feature that distinguishes this form from the I-526 is its dependence on the I-956F project application filed by the regional centre. USCIS states clearly in the Form I-526E Instructions: an I-526E petition is only adjudicated after the corresponding project’s I-956F has been approved by USCIS, or in parallel in certain special cases.

In practice, there are three filing scenarios:

• The regional centre files the I-956F first and waits for approval, and only then does the investor file the I-526E. This is the safest scenario because it reduces the risk of the I-526E being denied because the project does not qualify.
• The regional centre has filed the I-956F but it has not yet been approved, and the investor files the I-526E in parallel. The I-526E will wait for the I-956F to be approved before USCIS makes a decision.
• The regional centre already has an approved I-956F project, and the investor files the I-526E straight into that project. This scenario gives the fastest adjudication time.

Investors should ask the regional centre for the receipt number of the I-956F before filing — this is mandatory information in Part 4 of the form.

Filing fees and payment methods

Following a federal court decision in November 2025, EB-5 fees were adjusted back to their pre-April 2024 levels. The fee structure for an I-526E petition now consists of two separate items:

• Main filing fee: $11,160 USD paid directly to USCIS.
• Integrity Fund surcharge: $1,000 USD for every I-526E petition filed from 01/10/2022 onwards.

The total initial filing cost is $12,160 USD per petition. Note that this is only the USCIS filing fee and does not include legal advisory fees, source of funds review fees, accounting fees or other costs incurred while preparing the petition.

USCIS requires both fees to be paid electronically: by credit/debit card via Form G-1450, or by ACH transfer from a US bank account via Form G-1650. Payments by personal cheque or bank cheque will be rejected.

An important rule to note: since 01/09/2022, USCIS has not accepted combined payments covering the I-526E fee and the fees for other forms such as the I-485, I-765 and I-131. Each form must have its own payment. If the investor uses Concurrent Filing, separate payments must be prepared for each form.

The structure of the parts of Form I-526E EB-5

The form consists of 12 Parts and requires detailed information, from personal details to investment details. According to theofficial USCIS guidance on Form I-526E, the main parts include:

• Part 1 — Information About You: the investor’s personal details (full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, address).
• Part 2 — Information About Your Spouse: details of the legal spouse.
• Part 3 — Information About Your Children: details of the children (up to 5 children, each declared separately).
• Part 4 — Information About Your Regional Center and Project Application: regional centre and project details (I-956F receipt number, project name, NCE Identification Number, TEA category).
• Part 5 — Information About Your Investment: details of the investment, disbursement date, source of funds and the person transferring the funds (if any).
• Part 6 — Visa Processing and Immigration Proceedings: choice of consular processing or AOS, immigration history.
• Part 7 — Background Information: criminal record, health and immigration violations history.
• Part 8 — Interpreter’s Contact Information (if applicable).
• Part 9 — Petitioner’s Statement, Contact Information, Declaration, and Signature: the investor’s undertaking and signature.
• Part 10 — Additional Information: extra information if Parts 1–9 do not have enough space.

From the current version of Form I-526E, Part 4 requires the investor to state clearly which Reserved Visa category the project falls under (Rural, High Unemployment, Infrastructure) or whether it is Unreserved. This choice determines the priority processing and the Priority Date that apply to the petition.

Supporting evidence filed with the petition

Form I-526E is the framework of the petition — what decides the outcome is the accompanying evidence package. Under USCIS guidance, the evidence package must include four main groups of documents.

Group 1 — Evidence about the investor

This group includes the passport (copies of all pages with information and visas), birth certificate, marriage certificate, and criminal record certificates from Vietnam and every country where the investor has lived for more than 6 months. If the investor has any immigration violations, visa refusals or deportations, a detailed written explanation must be attached.

Group 2 — Evidence about the project and the regional centre

This includes a copy of the regional centre’s designation (I-956 Approval Notice), the receipt or approval notice for the project’s I-956F, the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM), the Limited Partnership Agreement (LPA), the signed Subscription Agreement, the Economist Report on economic impact, and a Business Plan that complies with the Matter of Ho standard. Most of these documents are provided by the regional centre.

Group 3 — Evidence about the investment capital and source of funds

This is the most important group, usually making up 70–80% of the petition’s volume. Details onEB-5 source and path of funds (SOF/POF)include: evidence of the origin of funds (business income, inheritance, asset transfers, investment returns…), evidence of the path of funds from their origin to the project’s escrow account, bank statements for the relevant periods, and tax records and relevant contracts.

For Vietnamese petitions, USCIS pays particular attention to the legality of transferring foreign currency abroad, because of the State Bank of Vietnam’s foreign exchange controls. The petition must include documents proving the transactions complied with Vietnamese law, including money transfer service contracts, currency exchange receipts and bank confirmations.

Group 4 — Evidence of job creation

For Regional Center I-526E petitions, job creation evidence is mainly contained in the Economist Report provided by the regional centre. This report uses an economic model (RIMS II or IMPLAN) to calculate the direct, indirect and induced jobs created by the project. The investor must attach a copy of the most recent Economist Report.

Completion guidance for Vietnamese investors

Some special notes for Vietnamese investors completing the petition.

Part 1 — Information About You: the full name must exactly match the passport, with no shortened names. Vietnamese names with diacritics must be written without diacritics in Latin script (for example, “Nguyễn Văn An” becomes “NGUYEN VAN AN”). The “Native alphabet” field allows the name to be written in Vietnamese with diacritics.

Part 4 — Information About Your Regional Center and Project Application: the two mandatory receipt numbers are (1) the Regional Center Designation Receipt number and (2) the I-956F receipt number. Both must be obtained from the regional centre before filing.

Part 5 — Information About Your Investment: you must declare the correct amount disbursed as of the filing date. If the full capital has not yet been disbursed, state the expected amount and disbursement date. If a third party transferred money on your behalf (such as a currency exchange company or a relative), their identity must be fully declared.

Part 7 — Background Information: you must truthfully declare every immigration violation, every visa refusal and every deportation, including for family members. Untruthful declarations can lead to denial of the petition and a permanent entry ban under INA 212(a)(6)(C).

Part 9 — Signature: the signature must be a genuine handwritten signature; typed signatures or stamps are not accepted. USCIS accepts photocopies/scans of the original signature, but the original must be signed by hand.

Common mistakes when filing

According to USCIS trend data, the five most common groups of mistakes leading to RFEs or denials of I-526E petitions are:

• Source of funds documentation that is incomplete or lacks a logical link between the stages of capital accumulation — the leading cause of RFEs.
• Information on the I-526E that does not match the I-956F or the regional centre’s documents (wrong receipt number, wrong project name, wrong TEA category).
• Invalid signatures (typed signatures, incomplete scans, no signing date).
• Incomplete disclosure of immigration history and criminal record, especially where the investor has worked or studied in the United States.
• Fees paid incorrectly or combined with fees for other forms, causing the petition to be returned and the Priority Date to be lost.

After filing

Once USCIS accepts the petition, the investor receives an I-797C (Notice of Action) within 2–4 weeks, with the official receipt number and Priority Date — the receipt date that determines the queue position in the Visa Bulletin. According tothe official USCIS EB-5 process, this notice officially marks the petition’s entry into the adjudication queue.

Actual adjudication time depends on the project category. Rural TEA petitions are currently adjudicated in an average of 4–12 months thanks to the RIA’s priority processing. High Unemployment TEA petitions take 18–24 months. Unreserved petitions can take 24–30 months. Throughout adjudication, USCIS may ask the investor for additional evidence through an RFE or give notice of intent to deny through a NOID.

When the petition is approved, the investor moves on to the next phase: consular processing at the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, or adjustment of status (AOS) if they are in the United States. I-526E approval is an important milestone but not yet visa issuance — several more steps remain before the conditional green card.

For Vietnamese investors, preparing Form I-526E EB-5 correctly the first time is decisive for shortening the overall roadmap. A high-quality petition that avoids RFEs/NOIDs can save 6–18 months and significantly reduce the risk of EB-5 eligibility being denied.

Form I-526E is only used for petitions through a regional centre; the criteria for choosing one are set out inwhat an EB-5 Regional Center is.