The gap in results between the two investment paths is significant. The failure rate for EB-5 direct applications has reached 58%, indicating ongoing structural or evidentiary problems. At the same time, for applications through regional centers, this figure was only 5.7%, which explains why the vast majority of investors choose this route.
The majority of applicants preferred targeted employment zones (TEA): rural projects are in the lead with 3,589 applications, followed by areas with high unemployment (2,430 applications). There are practically no investments outside TEA (42 applications in total), which indicates the continued impact of the incentives embedded in the 2022 reform.
Investors from China (3,017 applications) and India (1,812 applications) together secured more than three quarters of all applications through regional centers. Both groups clearly preferred rural projects, while investors from other countries were slightly more inclined towards urban areas with high unemployment.
The ecosystem of the program is developing: the number of applications for the opening of new regional centers has sharply decreased (from 166 to 42), which may indicate market consolidation. Despite the political debate surrounding immigration policy, the EB-5 program has hardly changed. In the short term, further growth in demand is expected, which is facilitated by the approaching expiration dates of certain regulations (September 2026) and the prospect of raising investment thresholds.
Recall that in September 2025, the Trump administration introduced a new immigration program, the Trump Gold Card. The program offers wealthy foreigners and corporations an accelerated path to obtaining permanent residence in the United States through an irrevocable donation: individuals need 1 million dollars, and companies can receive a slot for 2 million dollars with the ability to transfer it to others employees. Unlike the classic EB-5, the Trump Card does not require job creation and allows you to obtain permanent residence status without an intermediate stage of temporary residence. However, the program is based on an administrative decision rather than legislation, which creates risks of instability - the next president or the court can cancel it at any time.
Source: IMI
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