New EB-5 Application and Approval Data Released! Understand 3 Key Signals

Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially released the EB-5 investor immigration application and approval data for the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year (July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025). For investors, this is not just quarterly statistics, but an important window for observing current application trends.

Especially for Chinese applicants, the data is truly worth paying attention, not just “how many were submitted, how many were approved,” but also: How is the current overall EB-5 enthusiasm? What categories of projects are Chinese investors primarily choosing?

Judging from the data published this time, the answer is increasingly clear: The overall EB-5 application enthusiasm is still high, and the main focus of I-526E applications by Chinese investors is clearly on rural projects.

Strong Performance in Approval

According to the 2025 fiscal year's fourth quarter data, the I-526E (regional center investor applications) under the new law showed major data for the season:

• Number of submissions: 1478

• Number of approvals: 1430

• Number of approvals granted: 1349

• Approval rate: 1349/1430 =94.34%

If we look at the cumulative data for the entire 2025 fiscal year, the overall performance of I-526E is also noteworthy:

• Number of submissions: 6307

• Number of approvals: 3366

• Number of approvals granted: 3171

• Annual approval rate: 3171/3366=94.21%

This set of data reveals at least three very clear signals.

First, USCIS is continuously advancing the adjudication of cases under the new law. The number of approvals for the single season has reached over 1300, maintaining growth, and the speed of processing new law application approvals by USCIS is notably faster.

Second, the EB-5 market enthusiasm remains. The cumulative annual submissions reached 6307, indicating that under the current identity planning environment, EB-5 remains a major focus for many applicants.

Third, the overall performance of I-526E approvals under the new law remains strong. Whether considering a single season or the entire year, the approval rate for adjudicated cases remains at about 94%, showing that the new law cases still hold substantial approval certainty.

Clearly Focused on Rural Projects

Further examining the categorization data of I-526E (regional center investor applications) from Chinese investors, the trend becomes more apparent.

In the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, among the I-526E applications submitted by Chinese investors:

• Rural projects: 452

• Urban high unemployment projects: 152

• Urban + rural dual category: 9

• Unclassified: 23

In other words, looking at the fourth quarter alone, the number of rural project applications submitted by Chinese investors has far exceeded urban high unemployment projects.

And if we look at the cumulative data for the entire 2025 fiscal year, the trend is even clearer:

• Rural projects: 1966

• Urban high unemployment projects: 996

• Urban + rural dual category: 30

• Unclassified: 23

• Total: 3015

Based on cumulative data for the entire year, rural projects accounted for about 65%; if we look only at the fourth quarter, rural projects accounted for over 70%. This indicates that the main focus of I-526E applications from Chinese investors is clearly concentrated on rural projects.

According to the latest data, USCIS processed 73 I-956F applications in the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, with 61 approved and 12 denied, single-season approval rate was approximately 83.56%; if we look at the cumulative data for the entire 2025 fiscal year, USCIS processed 250 I-956F applications, with 193 approved, annual approval rate approximately 77.20%. This indicates that a considerable number of projects have not yet met the basic requirements set by USCIS for EB-5 projects.

According to USCIS's confirmed processing arrangement, starting from March 30, 2026, I-526/I-526E applications will generally be allocated for processing on a "first come, first served" basis, and relevant projects must first obtain I-956F approval, which is a crucial prerequisite for investors entering the adjudication process. It's particularly noteworthy that under the new regulations, rural projects enjoy priority processing review benefits, improving the efficiency and certainty of investors' identity applications (For details, check the previous report by Trade Pass: USCIS Self-Reports EB-5 Approval Rules).

EB-5 Rural Projects with I-956F Approval

Advantages are More Obvious During the Window Period

In the current application environment, the value of projects with I-956F approval is further rising. Trade Pass currently holds two high-quality rural EB-5 projects with formal I-956F approval——"North Carolina Sugar Mountain Hilton Hotel" and "Great Smoky Mountain Marriott Hotel," assisting investors in swiftly acquiring U.S. green cards.

For families considering EB-5, the current stage's most noteworthy aspect is not just “Can you apply?”, but whether you can complete the application within the window period. The EB-5 new policy window period is quickly narrowing, and the grandfather clause will expire on September 30; the minimum investment amount could increase from $800,000 to $900,000 or even higher on January 1, 2027. Moreover, once the reserved category for the EB-5 new policy sees a backlog, the current “no backlog + dual submission” golden window will end. Therefore, the earlier you secure high-quality rural projects with I-956F approval, the more proactive you can be in identity planning.