Forms

Form I-956

Also called I-956, Application for Regional Center Designation.

Form I-956, Application for Regional Center Designation, is the application an economic unit files to be designated by USCIS as an EB-5 regional center under INA 203(b)(5)(E), or to amend a designation it already holds.

What it decides

Designation rests on INA 203(b)(5)(E), 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(E), and one form covers both a first designation and an amendment to an approved one. The proposal must set out a defined, contiguous and limited geographic area, predict the investment and the jobs, and describe compliance policies, 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(E)(iii). USCIS may not approve a designation or an amendment unless the regional center certifies, to the best of the certifier's knowledge and after a due diligence investigation, both that it is in compliance with the securities laws of the United States and of any state where the offer, purchase or sale was conducted, the issuer sat, or the investment advice was given, and that it has policies and procedures reasonably designed to confirm that every party associated with it will remain in compliance, 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(I)(ii)(I). Each person involved with the regional center, a new commercial enterprise or an affiliated job-creating entity files Form I-956H, a distinct filing carried inside the I-956 package and free of charge, attesting to the bars in 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(H). The I-956 fee is $17,795, Form G-1055 edition dated 29 May 2026, checked 5 August 2026. Designation alone raises no money: the center must then file Form I-956F for the particular investment before any investor may file Form I-526E. Visas under subparagraph (E) run through 30 September 2027, which is the program authorization and not the 30 September 2026 filing date in the grandfathering provision at 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(S). USCIS publishes approved centers by state with a name and a Regional Center ID and no address, so a multi-state center appears more than once, and it states that approval is not an endorsement, does not guarantee compliance with securities laws and does not reduce investor risk. Presence on that list tells an investor the center exists, nothing about the offering.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(E), (E)(i), (E)(iii), (H), (I)(ii)(I), (S) (uscode.house.gov); 8 CFR 204.6(e) (ecfr.gov); USCIS Form I-956 page, form edition 04/01/24 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-956); USCIS Form I-956H page (https://www.uscis.gov/i-956h); Form G-1055 fee schedule, edition dated 29 May 2026 (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/g-1055.pdf); USCIS Approved EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Centers (https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers/approved-eb-5-immigrant-investor-regional-centers)

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into form i-956 rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

Form I-956FForm I-956F, Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise, is the application a designated regional center must file for each particular investment offering before any investor may petition on that offering.
Form I-956GForm I-956G, Regional Center Annual Statement, is the yearly filing every designated regional center must submit to support its continued eligibility for designation, accounting for investor capital, project progress, fees collected from investors and required compliance certifications.
Form I-956HForm I-956H, Bona Fides of Persons Involved with Regional Center Program, is the background attestation that each person involved with a regional center, a new commercial enterprise or an affiliated job-creating entity must complete and file as a distinct submission alongside Form I-956 or Form I-956F.

Checked against primary sources on 6 August 2026. Back to the glossary