A key tenant of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (“RIA”) is the required annual “Integrity Fee.” The fee is due between October 1st and October 30th each year, and the payment is applied to the regional centers’ requirements for the next fiscal year.
Regional centers must pay a minimum of $10,000 if the regional center has 20 or fewer investors, or $20,000 if the regional center has 21 or more investors. The total number of investors is calculated by USCIS by counting any investor that has filed an I-526 or I-526E but has not yet filed an I-829 petition. Any payments made after October 30 are subject to a late fee and USCS has the right to terminate any regional center that fails to pay the annual fee within 90 days.
Earlier this year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued Notices of Intent to Terminate (NOITs) to EB-5 regional centers that they found not in compliance with the RIA integrity fee requirements. The NOITs caught many regional centers off guard who were confused by RIA requirements that necessitated two integrity fee payments in 2023.
IIUSA recently met with the USCIS Ombudsman’s Office to explain regional centers’ confusion and why the NOITs were inappropriate. The Ombudsman listened carefully and committed to conduct their own analysis before weighing in with USCIS. Meanwhile, IIUSA encourages all regional centers to review their requirements for the FY2025 integrity fee and submit their payments as soon as possible.
