Finally, there is a bit of good news for EB-5 investors! An EB-5 investor interest group called the American Immigrant Investor Alliance ("AIIA") filed a lawsuit against USCIS alleging that, when USCIS substantially increased the filing fees for the I-526, I-526E, and I-829 petitions (as well as for the I-956, I-956F, and I-956G applications that regional centers file) on April 1, 2024, it had done so improperly because it had not conducted the "fee study" that is required by Section 106 of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, and because it had, in general, acted in a manner "arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with the law," namely the Administrative Procedure Act. As a result, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado ordered that USCIS reduce these filing fees to their levels prior to the increase on April 1, 2024. 

On November 14, 2025, USCIS complied with this court order by reducing the filings fees for the forms I-526, I-526E, I-829, I-956, I-956F, and I-956G to the amounts they were prior to April 1, 2024. This means the following fee changes for EB-5 investors, going forward:

• The I-526/I-526E petition filing fee was reduced from $11,160 to $3,675.

• The I-829 petition filing fee was reduced from $9,525 to $3,750.

The AIIA is now seeking EB-5 investors, who filed I-526, I-526E, or I-829 petitions at these excessive fee rates, to join them in filing a class action law suit to seek restitution of the difference between the excessive fee already paid and the fee in the time prior April 1, 2024; therefore, $7,485 for the I-526 or I-526E petition and $5,775* for the I-829 petition. For any of you who filed an I-485 application for adjustment of status (and related forms I-765 and I-131) after April 1, 2024, there is no restitution available for the fees for these forms, since the litigation centered only on the filing fees for the above-mentioned forms that are filed only in connection with the EB-5 program.

*Please note that, in connection with the filing fee for the I-829 petition prior to April 1, 2024, a biometric fee of $85 per person had to be paid for the investor and for each dependent who was 14 years of age or older at the time of filing. Therefore, presumably, the $5,775 restitution amount would be reduced by however many biometrics fees would have to have been paid for the investor and any dependents over 14 years of age at the time of filing.

If you have filed an I-526, I-526E, or I-829 petition since April 1, 2024, then I would recommend that you look into seeking restitution by visiting the following page of the AIIA's website, where you will find a link to fill out a form to request more details on how to join the class action lawsuit and what the costs would be. Here is the link:

https://goaiia.org/we-won-the-eb-5-fee-increase-lawsuit/

Good luck with obtaining restitution for the excessive filing fees!