EB-5 Bridge Financing Rule: What the DHS Proposed Change Means for Your Projects

JTC’s Jill Jones explains how a recently-proposed rule could impact one of the most popular methods of EB-5 bridge financing and capital deployment, and what stakeholders can do to ensure the rule is refined to protect EB-5.

What the DHS Proposed Rule on EB-5 Bridge Financing Changes

On July 1st, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that outlined a number of procedural changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. The lengthy document, known as the EB-5 NPRM 2026, dealt with many aspects of the program, but one significant area was a section related to bridge financing.

As part of the applications process, EB-5 petitioners must prove that their invested capital was used to create at least 10 full-time jobs. This makes EB-5 job creation a key consideration for developers, regional centers and investors. As the NPRM explains, “DHS has historically permitted investors and their associated new commercial enterprises to claim credit for jobs created by interim, temporary, or bridge financing that is later replaced by EB-5 capital.”

Despite admitting that “the RIA did not explicitly address the use of bridge financing in the EB-5 program,” the NPRM proposes “to eliminate the use of bridge financing repaid from EB-5 investment capital as a basis to demonstrate job creation in the EB-5 program.”

As JTC Head of Specialty Administration/General Counsel – USA Jill Jones explains in an interview with Bisnow writer Matt Wasielewski, this change has “the potential to disqualify the majority of EB-5 offerings that are getting ready to come to market today.”

Why Bridge Financing Is Critical for EB-5 Projects

EB-5 bridge financing is popular with both developers and investors. For developers, accessing bridge financing during the EB-5 fundraising process can allow them to keep projects moving forward without delays. For investors, projects that are already off the ground through bridge financing are seen as more reliable because the job creation is already taking place.

How the Proposed Rule Could Disqualify Most EB-5 Offerings

The article goes into more detail about the ramifications of this type of change, also covered in a recent piece from CRE Daily. But as Jones points out, the release of the NPRM doesn’t mean these USCIS EB-5 rule changes will definitely be put into practice as currently worded.

“They’re not saying this is what we’re intending to do, take it or leave it. They’re saying we want to tighten up certain areas,” says Jones.

According to the NPRM, “DHS is also soliciting comments on alternative options to eliminating the use of bridge financing in recognition that there may be credible uses of bridge financing in the EB-5 program. More recently, DHS has found that Form I-956F project applications filed after enactment of the RIA generally present more credible and realistic uses of bridge financing, which in turn present more credible projects that have a higher likelihood of success. ”

This indicates a willingness to be flexible in order to accommodate the types of uses that are being employed by the best in EB-5.

What EB-5 Stakeholders Should Do Now

Stakeholders are encouraged to get in touch with lawmakers and provide comments to help with the process, either directly or working with organizations like Invest In the USA (IIUSA). Hopefully, this will ultimately lead to a stronger program overall.

“The whole goal of having these rules is to increase the sophistication and the integrity of the program,” says Jones. “Anytime we get rules around integrity, it’s going to make it more difficult, and it’s going to weed out the people that aren’t necessarily serious about doing it.”

Read the full article here