800+ I-526E Approvals for EB5AN’s Investors and 16,000+ Jobs Created

Investing in a rural EB-5 project is one of the fastest ways to get U.S. Green Cards for yourself and your family. Under the EB-5 program, investors who choose EB-5 projects in rural targeted employment areas (TEAs) gain exclusive benefits.

Since 2022, more than 800 EB5AN investors have received I-526E approval—some in just three months. These projects have already created over 16,000 EB-5 jobs, which positions investors very well for I-829 approval. Additionally, EB5AN has maintained a 100% USCIS project approval rate every year since 2013.

This article explains the key benefits of investing in a rural TEA EB-5 project, highlights EB5AN’s track record of more than 800 I-526E approvals, and summarizes job creation across EB5AN’s portfolio of rural and urban EB-5 projects.

Highlights:

• 800+ I-526E approvals and 16,000+ jobs created across EB5AN’s post-RIA projects
• 9.6-month average I-526E approval time for rural projects
• Over 80% of rural petitions adjudicated within 12 months
• Rural TEA I-526E processing is roughly 2.2× faster than non-rural processing timelines
• Over 30 Form I-956F approvals

Rural TEA EB-5 Project Benefits

Lower Investment Amount

By investing in a rural targeted employment area project, you qualify for the EB-5 rural minimum investment amount of $800,000. The standard minimum investment amount is $1,050,000.

Priority Rural Petition Processing

While the application process for rural EB-5 investors is the same as for urban investors, applications are handled differently. Rural investors qualify for priority Form I-526E processing. With priority processing, your Form I-526E may be adjudicated in a matter of months, not years. This means you could get your U.S. Green Cards months or years faster than otherwise.

EB5AN has seen this in practice. Priority processing has translated into remarkable approval speed for EB5AN’s rural investors. Some investors in EB5AN’s Twin Lakes Georgia project received work and travel authorization in as few as 30 days after filing.

Rural Set-Aside Visa Category

Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), new categories of EB-5 visas were created for investments in TEAs. The EB-5 rural visa category makes up 20% of all EB-5 visas, while the EB-5 urban visa category makes up only 10%. Unlike the standard EB-5 visa, these set-aside visas are currently not subject to any backlogs.

For investors from countries with EB-5 visa backlogs, set-aside EB-5 visas help them avoid long delays. Eventually, these set-aside visa categories could face backlogs, too.

As of May 2026, Chinese and Indian nationals face backlogs of pending visa applications for unreserved EB-5 visas. These backlogs mean that EB-5 investors from these countries often have to wait years longer to immigrate through the EB-5 program. With the set-aside EB-5 visa categories, however, no backlogs have been announced.

800+ I-526E Approvals

Achieving over 800 Form I-526E approvals is a significant accomplishment. This milestone not only reflects EB5AN’s compliance with EB-5 regulations but also underscores the importance of investing in a rural targeted employment area (TEA) project with priority processing.

EB5AN has seen processing times for its rural TEA investors’ I-526E petitions drop dramatically. Nearly all recent approvals have arrived in under 12 months. This is a substantial improvement over historical averages that often extended well beyond a year. Some petitions have been approved in as little as 3 months.

For each EB5AN project filed since the RIA that has received I-526E approvals, the table below summarizes the number of approvals, the average approval time, and the fastest approval time. During this period, USCIS has approved substantially more rural petitions than urban petitions.

I-526E Approval Time Distribution

EB5AN’s rural TEA project data demonstrates consistently fast processing. Across all rural TEA projects, more than 80% of I-526E approvals came in under 12 months; the overall rural TEA average is just 9.6 months, with the fastest approval processed in only 2.7 months.

By comparison, EB5AN’s urban TEA projects have an average I-526E approval time of 21.0 months.

This means EB5AN’s rural investors are processed roughly 2.2 times faster than urban investors.

16,000+ EB-5 Jobs Created

The development of these projects has already produced over 16,000 EB-5–eligible jobs. This level of job creation supports the requirement for 1,316 investors across these projects, with additional job creation expected as construction continues.

Because job creation is a central element of the Form I-829 petition, these investors are well-positioned for smooth I-829 approval when it comes time to file.

The table below summarizes job creation by project. For projects still under construction, job creation is expected to continue as additional construction spending occurs.

31 I-956F Approvals: 100% Project Approval Rate

In addition to more than 800 I-526E approvals, EB5AN has received 31 Form I-956F approvals from USCIS for projects that it manages. Of these approvals, 20 are associated with rural TEA projects, and 11 are associated with urban TEA projects.

These approved EB-5 projects span a wide range of industries, asset types, and markets, including single-family homes, townhomes, multifamily apartments, condominiums, ski resorts, wellness resorts, and more. With USCIS-approved regional centers covering the entire continental United States, EB5AN’s Form I-956F approved projects are located across multiple states, including Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.

EB5AN’s portfolio spans nine states and a wide range of asset classes without a single project denial in 13 years. EB5AN has maintained a 100% USCIS project approval rate across all EB-5 regional center projects it has managed.

EB-5 Grandfathering Deadline: September 30, 2026

The EB-5 Regional Center program is currently authorized through September 30, 2027. Investors who file their Form I-526E petitions before the September 30, 2026 grandfathering deadline are generally expected to remain protected under the current rules, even if future reauthorization terms change. For prospective investors, this deadline makes selecting an EB-5 project a highly time-sensitive matter.

By filing before the grandfathering deadline, investors can help preserve access to key benefits under the current EB-5 framework, including rural TEA priority processing and the reserved visa set-aside categories.

Learn More About Available EB-5 Investments

With the September 30, 2026 grandfathering deadline approaching, availability in EB5AN’s rural TEA projects is limited. To learn more about the EB-5 immigration process and how an EB-5 investment can offer your family a path to U.S. citizenship, schedule a free consultation with EB5AN.