After 30 September 2026: EB-5 grandfathering, the 2027 sunset and the pending I-526E

Two September dates now divide the regional center programme. Petitions filed by 30 September 2026 keep moving even if Congress lets the programme lapse. Petitions filed after it depend on reauthorisation before 30 September 2027.

What the protection covers

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act added a protection now found in 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(5)(S). Notwithstanding the expiry of the regional center authorisation, DHS must continue processing I-526E petitions and the related removal-of-conditions petitions based on regional center investments filed on or before 30 September 2026; it may not deny those petitions because the programme expired; and it may not suspend or terminate visa allocation to beneficiaries of approved petitions. Separately, the regional center programme itself is authorised through 30 September 2027.

Why it matters

The programme has lapsed before, between mid-2021 and the March 2022 Act, and adjudications of regional center cases stopped during that period. An investor who filed after 30 September 2026 has no statutory guarantee against a repeat if the 2027 deadline passes without reauthorisation. That does not make a late filing pointless, but it changes the risk the investor and any sponsoring company carry.

The calendar keeps tightening. Fees rise on 30 November, as described in EB-5 fees from 30 November, and the investment amount adjusts on 1 January 2027, as set out in the January 2027 adjustment.

Integrity rules in progress

DHS has also proposed rules implementing the integrity provisions of the 2022 Act, published on 2 July 2026, with comments closed on 31 August 2026. The statute already contains protections for good-faith investors when a regional center, new commercial enterprise or job-creating entity is terminated or debarred, including a period to associate with another approved center or make a new investment.

What investors and sponsors should do

• Sort the portfolio into filed-by-30-September and filed-after. The second group needs a plan for a possible lapse in 2027.
• Keep the documentation described in I-526E delays and committed capital and in I-829 delays up to date; a lapse makes the record more important, not less.
• Before considering a delay suit for a post-cut-off petition, ask whether the problem is delay or programme risk. A court can order a decision; it cannot reauthorise a programme. The point is part of when not to litigate.

For grandfathered petitions that stall beyond any reasonable period, Mandamus.com covers the route on EB-5 mandamus.

The standalone route

The grandfathering provision and the 2027 authorisation date concern the regional center programme. An investor who makes a direct investment in their own new commercial enterprise files a Form I-526 rather than an I-526E, and that route does not depend on the regional center authorisation. It carries its own requirements, including the creation of the qualifying jobs within the enterprise, and from 30 November 2026 a filing fee of $7,615. For some executives sponsored by their own businesses, that is a more predictable route than a regional center filing made after the grandfathering date.

Questions

Is the regional center programme ending on 30 September 2026?

No. That date ended grandfathering for new filings. The programme is authorised through 30 September 2027.

What does grandfathering guarantee?

Continued processing, no denial based on expiry of the programme, and no suspension of visa allocation for approved beneficiaries, for petitions filed on or before 30 September 2026.

Does it protect direct investments?

The standalone EB-5 route does not depend on regional center authorisation in the same way. The grandfathering provision is directed at regional center petitions.

General information, not legal advice. Rules and processing practice change; verify against the agency's own published figures and take advice on your own facts.