In a decisive ruling issued late on 15 November, a US federal judge vacated the steep filing-fee increases that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) imposed on EB-5 immigrant-investor petitions in April 2024. The court said USCIS skipped the mandatory fee-study required under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, rendering the hike unlawful. Effective immediately, I-526E investor petitions drop from USD 11,160 back to USD 3,675, and I-829 removal-of-conditions fees fall from USD 9,525 to USD 3,750.
For Indian high-net-worth individuals—already the EB-5 programme’s second-largest nationality—this translates into savings of roughly ₹6 lakh per investor. Several Mumbai-based wealth advisors estimate that more than 2,000 Indian families filed after April 2024 and may now qualify for refunds through a forthcoming class-action suit mentioned in the judgment.
Context: Demand from India surged after the EB-5 “reserved” categories for rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure projects opened in March 2025, offering priority processing and visa set-asides outside the oversubscribed unreserved pool. However, the sudden 250 percent fee hike chilled interest, pushing many families toward the Portugal Golden Visa or the new UAE Premium Investor Residence.
![US Court Strikes Down 2024 EB-5 Fee Hike, Delivering Windfall for Indian Investors]()
Legal analysis: The court held that USCIS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to conduct the cost-recovery analysis Congress mandated. While the agency can redo the study and re-propose new fees, practitioners believe that process could take 12–18 months. In the interim, regional centres anticipate an influx of Indian capital, especially into rural US real-estate projects that now look comparatively affordable.
Action points for mobility and global-talent teams:
• Alert executives exploring US market expansion that the EB-5 route has become 60 percent cheaper overnight.
• Fast-track source-of-funds documentation for employees or founders eyeing FY 2026 allocations; unreserved visas for India are already oversubscribed.
• Monitor potential retrogression: a surge in Indian filings could force the State Department to impose a cut-off date in the Visa Bulletin as early as mid-2026.
Bottom line: The ruling revives EB-5’s attractiveness for Indian entrepreneurs seeking a permanent foothold in the United States and could re-shuffle global investment-migration flows over the next year.
For Indian high-net-worth individuals—already the EB-5 programme’s second-largest nationality—this translates into savings of roughly ₹6 lakh per investor. Several Mumbai-based wealth advisors estimate that more than 2,000 Indian families filed after April 2024 and may now qualify for refunds through a forthcoming class-action suit mentioned in the judgment.
Context: Demand from India surged after the EB-5 “reserved” categories for rural, high-unemployment and infrastructure projects opened in March 2025, offering priority processing and visa set-asides outside the oversubscribed unreserved pool. However, the sudden 250 percent fee hike chilled interest, pushing many families toward the Portugal Golden Visa or the new UAE Premium Investor Residence.
Legal analysis: The court held that USCIS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to conduct the cost-recovery analysis Congress mandated. While the agency can redo the study and re-propose new fees, practitioners believe that process could take 12–18 months. In the interim, regional centres anticipate an influx of Indian capital, especially into rural US real-estate projects that now look comparatively affordable.
Action points for mobility and global-talent teams:
• Alert executives exploring US market expansion that the EB-5 route has become 60 percent cheaper overnight.
• Fast-track source-of-funds documentation for employees or founders eyeing FY 2026 allocations; unreserved visas for India are already oversubscribed.
• Monitor potential retrogression: a surge in Indian filings could force the State Department to impose a cut-off date in the Visa Bulletin as early as mid-2026.
Bottom line: The ruling revives EB-5’s attractiveness for Indian entrepreneurs seeking a permanent foothold in the United States and could re-shuffle global investment-migration flows over the next year.
