EB-5 in October 2026: the India quota reopens, what it means for other investors

Key points

• The unreserved EB-5 category is open for India again: the final action date is 1 December 2023, the date for filing is 1 May 2024.
• For China the unreserved final action date stays at 1 December 2016. The date for filing moved to 1 March 2021.
• For most other countries, including Europe, the Middle East and the CIS, there is no queue in any EB-5 category.
• The set-aside quotas (rural, high unemployment, infrastructure) are current for all countries, including India and China.
• The investment is currently $800,000 in targeted areas and infrastructure and $1,050,000 otherwise. From 1 January 2027 it will be adjusted for inflation.

What changed in the October bulletin

The Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin every month. It has two charts: final action dates and dates for filing. The first shows who can already be issued a visa or green card. The second shows who can file and join the queue for a final decision. The October bulletin always matters: the US fiscal year starts on 1 October, and annual visa limits reset.

In September 2026 the unreserved EB-5 category for India was unavailable: the country had used its annual limit, and the Department of State had warned in advance that the queue might stop. In October the category returned with a date of 1 December 2023. This means visas go to Indian investors who filed a petition before that date. For China the final action date did not move and stays at 1 December 2016, but the date for filing advanced to 1 March 2021. USCIS confirmed that in October adjustment of status applications inside the US are accepted under the second chart, the dates for filing.

The key column for most of our clients is the first one. Countries not listed separately in the bulletin fall under the general column. It covers Russia, Kazakhstan, the UK, Germany, Turkey, the UAE, Brazil and most other countries. For them every EB-5 category is current, and timing depends only on how long the documents are reviewed.

What this means for you. If you were born outside China and India, there is currently no wait for an EB-5 visa number. Your timeline depends on how fast your petition is reviewed, not on the visa limit.

How the EB-5 quota works

The EB-5 program receives 7.1% of all employment-based visas the US issues each year. Of these, 32% are set aside: 20% for investments in rural areas, 10% for high unemployment areas and 2% for infrastructure projects. The remaining 68% form the unreserved category, open to all other investors.

There is a second limit: no single country may receive more than 7% of the visas in a year. Queues therefore appear where demand from one country exceeds that share. This is the case for China and India. Other countries file fewer petitions, and their investors receive visas without waiting.

An important detail: the queue is based on the country of birth, not the passport. An investor born in China stays in the China queue even with a second citizenship. If the spouse was born in another country, the family may in some cases be charged to the spouse's country of birth. This is checked against documents before filing.

What this means for you. The set-aside quotas are currently open to every country. For investors from China and India this is the shortest path to a visa; for others it is a way in with the lower amount.

What this means for investors outside India

Most countries. There is no wait for a visa number, but the path is only as fast as the review allows. USCIS first reviews the investor petition, then comes the consular interview. Immigrant visas are processed in the country of nationality or residence. The temporary pause on immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Thailand, has not been in effect since 21 August 2026 under a court order.

The most demanding stage is proving the source of funds. USCIS checks where the entire investment came from, often many years back. You need contracts, statements, tax documents and the path of the money through banks to the project account. It is best to start this before choosing a project, with source of funds support. Foreign documents need translation and certification, which is covered by our document services.

China. In the unreserved category the wait is still measured in years: visas go to investors who filed before 1 December 2016. For people born in China the sensible choice is the set-aside quotas, above all rural areas. USCIS prioritises those petitions, and there is no visa queue in these categories.

India. The return of the quota shows how the limit works. By the end of the fiscal year the country uses its share, and issuance stops until October. Indian investors filing now should look at the set-aside categories.

What this means for you. For most investors the timeline is set not by the quota but by the review of funds and documents. The earlier the source of funds file is ready, the fewer requests from USCIS.

How much to invest and what changes on 1 January 2027

Two thresholds apply now. $800,000 is for investments in targeted employment areas (rural and high unemployment areas) and infrastructure projects. $1,050,000 is for all other cases. The investment must create at least 10 full-time jobs for US workers. Through a regional center most of these jobs can be shown by an indirect employment calculation.

From 1 January 2027 the amounts will be adjusted for inflation for the first time. This is required by the 2022 law and confirmed by USCIS. The new thresholds will apply to petitions filed on or after that date. USCIS has not yet published the exact figures, so budgets should include a margin. Those who have already chosen a project and gathered documents are better off filing before the end of 2026.

Another date is 30 September 2027. The 2022 law extended the regional center program, used for most EB-5 investments, until then. Any further extension is a decision for Congress. The project itself should be checked before investing: who is behind the regional center, whether building permits are in place and how the capital is returned. For this we run due diligence on the project and partners.

What this means for you. If you are ready to file in 2026, the amount stays the same. From January 2027 the budget will grow by the inflation adjustment.

Which money qualifies for the investment

USCIS accepts only lawfully obtained capital, and it checks the whole amount. Assets acquired directly or indirectly by unlawful means do not count. Nor does capital invested with a guaranteed rate of return, or money the project company receives from the investor as a loan, a bond or another debt that it must repay.

The investment has to create jobs. Each of the 10 required positions must be full-time, at least 35 hours a week, and jobs expected to last at least two years are what USCIS counts. For petitions filed after 15 March 2022, the capital must be expected to stay invested for at least two years.

In practice this means three sets of documents. The first shows where the money came from: salary, dividends, the sale of a business or property. The second shows the tax paid on that income. The third traces the money through banks to the project account, with no gaps and no transfers through third parties. If part of the capital was held in cash or in accounts that were never reported, it is better to resolve this before filing, with capital legalization.

What this means for you. USCIS looks at the history of the money, not the balance on the account. A gap in the chain of transfers is the most common reason for a request for further evidence.

Who in the family receives a green card with the investor

One EB-5 petition covers the immediate family. The spouse and unmarried children under 21 receive green cards together with the investor. No separate investment per family member is needed: the amount is the same, while each person receives a visa under their own application. Every family visa is counted against the same annual quota, which is why the China and India queues grow faster than the number of investors.

The main risk for a family is the age of the children. A child who turns 21 before receiving a green card may lose the right to immigrate with the parents. The Child Status Protection Act can keep child status in some cases: the time USCIS spent reviewing the petition is subtracted from the age. The condition is strict: the family must seek permanent residence within one year of the visa becoming available.

Marriage is also checked against documents. A spouse qualifies as a family member only if the marriage took place before the investor obtained conditional residence. Marriage and birth certificates, divorce and custody decisions need translation and certification in advance, which is covered by our document services. If there are children from a previous marriage, consent of the other parent and inheritance questions are best settled before the move, through family and succession planning.

What this means for you. Work out each child's age on the expected filing date. If someone is close to 21, the filing date matters more than the choice of project.

Timeline: what the path to a green card consists of

The EB-5 path has three stages. First, the investor petition reviewed by USCIS. Second, a visa at a consulate or adjustment of status inside the US if you are already there lawfully. Third, a two-year conditional green card, after which the investor files to remove conditions and shows that the investment and jobs are in place.

According to USCIS, in fiscal year 2026 regional center petitions took a median of 11.5 months, based on cases from 1 October 2025 to 30 August 2026. Half of the cases took longer, and after the petition there is still the consular interview or adjustment of status. USCIS reviews rural area petitions first. Those living in the US on an E-2, H-1B or student visa may file the petition and the adjustment of status application together if the date for filing for their country is current. The family then receives work and travel permits before the petition is decided.

If a green card is not the main goal and you need to start a US business sooner, there is the E-2 investor visa. It requires a smaller amount but is open only to nationals of treaty countries. The difference between E-2 and EB-5 is covered in the article on the Turkish passport and the E-2 visa, and the second citizenship path in the piece on the E-2 visa through Grenada.

Conditional green card and removal of conditions

The first EB-5 green card is conditional and lasts two years. During this time the investor lives and works in the US on the same terms as other permanent residents, but the final decision is still ahead.

The petition to remove conditions is filed within the 90 days before the second anniversary of conditional residence. The window is strict: missing it puts the status at risk. In the petition the investor shows that the required capital was invested and that the project created at least 10 full-time jobs. Family members are usually included in the same petition.

While the petition is pending, the receipt notice extends the status for the period stated in it. If removal of conditions is denied, the decision can be reviewed in immigration court, and USCIS issues temporary proof of status for that time. This is why the regional center reports on construction and jobs should be collected from the first year, not a month before filing. The reporting terms of the project agreement are best reviewed before investing, with deal support.

What this means for you. A green card without conditions depends on the project, not only on your documents. Choose a project that can show the jobs by the end of the second year.

What to do now

1. Find your column in the bulletin by country of birth, yours and your spouse's.
2. Choose the category: rural area, high unemployment, infrastructure or unreserved.
3. Prepare source of funds evidence for the full amount, with several years of history.
4. Check the project and the regional center before transferring money.
5. If the project is chosen, plan to file the petition before 1 January 2027 while the current thresholds apply.
6. Check the bulletin every month: dates can also move backwards.

Common mistakes

• "The quota is current, so the green card comes next month." A current quota removes the visa wait, not the petition review. The review takes most of the time.
• "I have a second passport, so I am not in the China queue." The queue is based on the country of birth, not citizenship.
• "I will file in 2027 for the same amount." Petitions filed from 1 January 2027 face higher thresholds.
• "The money is in the account, that is enough." USCIS checks the origin of the entire amount, not just that it exists.
• "The set-aside quotas will always be current." If demand exceeds the limit, the Department of State may set dates in these categories too.

How this piece was prepared

This piece is based on the US Department of State Visa Bulletins for September and October 2026, the USCIS adjustment of status filing charts for October 2026 and the USCIS EB-5 program page with the investment amounts and the inflation adjustment rule. Information on the immigrant visa pause comes from the Department of State website, update of 28 August 2026; the regional center program deadline and petition processing times come from the USCIS website. Bulletin dates change every month, so a check for the current month is needed before filing. It is not a legal opinion on your case.