Global investors who have participated in the EB-5 investor program through a Regional Center need to ensure the EB-5 Integrity Fund fee has been paid by the centers. Failure to pay EB-5 Integrity Fees will result in the termination of the designation of any Regional Center.

The termination of a Regional Center may be detrimental to EB-5 investors, as investors filing Form I-526E for investment in a new commercial enterprise must be sponsored by an approved Regional Center, and the new enterprise must associate with a new Regional Center.

US Congress mandates USCIS to establish the EB-5 Integrity Fund for regional center program administration. The fund, funded by a fee of $20,000 or $10,000, depends on specific factors set by the Act, primarily used by USCIS.

The EB-5 Integrity Fund fee is to be paid by the Regional Centers, and becomes due on October 1. USCIS can terminate the designation of any regional center that does not pay the required fee within 90 days of the due date.

The annual fee is $20,000 for each such regional center, except for those with 20 or fewer total investors in the preceding fiscal year (that is, October 1-September 30) in its new commercial enterprises, in which case the annual fee is $10,000.

For application of the different fee amounts, USCIS interpret the phrase “20 or fewer total investors in the preceding fiscal year in its new commercial enterprises” to mean the total number of EB-5 investors who have invested or are actively in the process of investing in a regional center’s new commercial enterprises in any given fiscal year from the point of filing a petition for classification through the point of filing a petition for removal of conditions.

USCIS will reject any EB-5 Integrity Fund fee payments for a particular fiscal year sent after December 30 and take steps to terminate any regional center that has not paid the required fee on or before December 30.

For example, the due date for EB-5 Integrity Fund fees for fiscal year 2026 is October 1, 2025, and USCIS will start taking steps to terminate any regional center that has not paid the required EB-5 Integrity Fund fee for FY 2026 on or before December 30, 2025.

Each designated regional center must pay the annual fee online and must include its Regional Center Identification (RCID) number in its Pay.gov transactions.

USCIS may remove a regional center from the EB-5 program, preventing it from promoting investors or investments. However, an EB-5 investor’s conditional permanent resident status remains valid if they invest in a new commercial enterprise associated with the removed center, allowing them to demonstrate compliance with EB-5 program requirements.