For Indian and Chinese nationals, applying for U.S. Green Cards through routes like the EB-1 and EB-2 programs has typically involved long delays—sometimes spanning several decades or more. Both China and India have a high volume of immigrant petitions, and applicants from these countries have historically had little choice but to endure long wait times or rely on temporary non-immigrant visas such as the H-1B.
But in 2025, Chinese and Indian nationals have a much faster path to becoming U.S. permanent residents—potentially in a matter of months. Thanks to priority processing for investors in rural EB-5 projects, the industry-wide standard is now for rural investors to receive I-526E approvals within 12 months.
Investors in EB5AN’s rural projects are frequently receiving I-526E approvals in this time, and many have even received their physical Green Cards in as little as 9 months.
And this trend of fast EB-5 approvals remains strong despite recent changes to other immigration programs such as the H-1B visa.
Now we are pleased to announce the latest I-526E approval for our Rocky River Rural EB-5 project: an Indian national who was approved only five months after filing.
Sam Silverman, managing partner of EB5AN, had this to say: “We are thrilled that more and more of EB5AN’s investors are getting fast I-526E approvals, even in only a few short months. The fact that many of these approvals have gone to Indian and Chinese nationals shows that priority processing applies to all investors in rural projects—regardless of nationality.”
In this post, we’ll examine how rural EB-5 projects make these fast approvals possible for EB-5 investors. Then we’ll provide an overview of the Rocky River rural EB-5 project and its history of consistently fast USCIS approvals.
Rural EB-5: A Faster Path to a Green Card
Rocky River: A Premier Rural EB-5 Project
Get Your USCIS Approval In Only Months
Rural EB-5: A Faster Path to a Green Card
Investing in a rural EB-5 project has become one of the most reliable ways for foreign nationals to obtain a U.S. Green Card more quickly.
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 created new benefits for projects located in rural targeted employment areas (TEAs). The most important one of these is priority USCIS processing for rural investors’ I-526E petitions.
In addition, rural investors benefit from a reduced minimum investment of $800,000, compared to the $1,050,000 required in non-TEA projects.
These advantages are particularly important for investors from countries like China and India. These countries’ high demand for EB-5 visas means that petitions have far exceeded the annual country cap, creating long backlogs for standard EB-5 applications. Normally, Chinese and Indian nationals might wait years before their priority date becomes current.
But rural EB-5 projects fall within a dedicated visa set-aside category, which reserves 20% of the annual EB-5 allocation specifically for rural investments. Because this category remains current, investors from backlogged countries are able to avoid the long queues that apply in the regular EB-5 visa pool.
The difference in timing can be significant. Most rural EB-5 investors are seeing I-526E approvals in under a year, allowing them and their families to begin living and working in the United States. Priority processing combined with set-aside visa availability makes the rural option the fastest and most practical EB-5 route for nationals of heavily backlogged countries.
For Indian and Chinese investors in particular, rural EB-5 projects provide a path that is both faster and more secure. Rather than risking long delays through the regular visa backlog, they can take advantage of rural’s set-aside visa quota and priority processing.
These advantages have made rural EB-5 investments the most popular choice for investors who want to complete the immigration process as quickly as possible.
Rocky River: A Premier Rural EB-5 Project
Rocky River is a master-planned residential community that brings together scale, amenities, and a proven development model.
Located in Locust, North Carolina—just 45 minutes from downtown Charlotte—the project is designed as an age-restricted 55+ Cresswind community. When complete, Rocky River will feature 1,120 single-family homes and an extensive set of amenities tailored to active adults. The location provides residents with easy access to Charlotte while maintaining the character and slower pace of a suburban setting.
This project continues the long-established tradition of Kolter Homes in developing Cresswind communities across the southeastern United States. Rocky River is the 14th Cresswind project, following 13 other successful developments, including Cresswind Twin Lakes in Georgia. Together, these communities have already sold over 6,300 homes, more than 5,800 of which have been completed and turned over to homeowners.
Kolter’s approach emphasizes not only high-quality construction but also community planning that fosters an active lifestyle, with carefully designed clubhouses, fitness facilities, walking trails, and other shared spaces that encourage interaction and well-being.
The developer behind Rocky River, The Kolter Group, is one of the 20 largest private home builders in the United States. Since its founding in 1997, Kolter has invested in more than $30 billion of real estate projects across the Southeast and delivered over 27,000 residential units. Its award-winning Kolter Homes division has extensive experience in single-family development, particularly in creating large active-adult communities like Rocky River.
Importantly, Kolter has consistently demonstrated financial stability: The company has borrowed billions of dollars over the years and has never failed to repay a loan. This track record offers strong reassurance to both homeowners and investors that Rocky River is being developed by a builder with exceptional credibility and experience.
The land for Rocky River—roughly 350 acres—was acquired by Kolter in November 2024, and development has been progressing ahead of schedule.
A model home park, central to Kolter’s sales strategy, is already under construction and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. Kolter has repeatedly used fully furnished model homes as a powerful tool to drive early sales and establish community momentum. At its prior Cresswind projects, this approach has consistently proven successful, allowing the company to attract buyers quickly and set the tone for the community.
From an investment standpoint, Rocky River is a low-risk rural EB-5 loan project. Because of its rural TEA designation, the project qualifies for the lower $800,000 EB-5 investment threshold and provides access to the rural set-aside visa category and priority processing. For investors, this not only reduces the required investment amount but also offers faster immigration benefits.
In practice, this means that investors can expect their I-526E petitions to be processed in months rather than years, an especially important advantage for families from China and India.
In fact, the very first I-526E approval for Rocky River was received in only 6.5 months, and approval times seem to only be trending down.
For financial safety, several layers of protection are built into the Rocky River investment structure.
Kolter has provided a loan repayment guaranty through one of its parent companies, ensuring that even in the unlikely event the borrower cannot repay, the parent company’s assets will cover the balance. A job creation guaranty further protects investors by guaranteeing that all EB-5 funds will be directed to job-creating expenditures, securing the necessary employment figures for permanent residency approvals. In addition, the project includes an I-526E approval refund guaranty, allowing investors whose petitions are denied by USCIS to receive their funds back more quickly.
Together, these measures greatly reduce both financial and immigration risk.
Rocky River has already achieved important regulatory milestones. Its EB5AN-sponsored fund, Rocky River Fund 29, received Form I-956F exemplar approval from USCIS, which confirms that the project’s job creation methodology, loan structure, and rural TEA designation have all been formally accepted. This approval also significantly reduces the risk of future challenges for investors.
For Kolter, Rocky River also represents continued success in the Charlotte market. The company has already delivered two successful Cresswind communities in the region: Cresswind Charlotte and Cresswind Wesley Chapel. This local experience, combined with its broader portfolio, provides further assurance that the developer understands the market dynamics and the preferences of active adult buyers in the area.
Get Your USCIS Approval In Only Months
The success of Rocky River demonstrates why rural EB-5 projects have become the most effective path to U.S. Green Cards for families from backlogged countries like India and China. With priority processing, visa set-asides, and strong USCIS compliance, investors are seeing I-526E approvals in record time—sometimes in only a few months.
For those seeking both immigration security and financial protection, Rocky River stands as a model rural project: well-capitalized, expertly developed, and already delivering approvals that demonstrate the benefits of rural EB-5.
To get started on your own EB-5 process or to inquire about Rocky River or any of our other EB-5 projects, schedule a free consultation with EB5AN.
