The short answer: To secure grandfathering under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, an investor must file an I-526 petition on or before September 30, 2026. Completing a filing generally takes six to fourteen months, most of it spent preparing source-of-funds documentation. Anyone starting now should treat the process as active from this week forward. The checklist below sequences every step and the realistic time each one takes, so a reader can find where they stand and see what remains.

The September 30, 2026 grandfathering deadline is the most important date in EB-5 right now. An I-526 petition filed on or before that date stays protected under current law, even if the Regional Center program is not reauthorized after September 2027. A petition filed after does not carry that protection.

The deadline is often misread as a date to file by. In practice it is a date to finish by, and the difference is measured in months. What follows is a sequenced checklist of what still needs to happen and how long each step realistically takes. Investors still deciding will see the full path. Those already underway can find their place in it and focus on what is left.

The Grandfathering Checklist, Step by Step

The steps below run in order. Some can overlap, but source-of-funds preparation is almost always the long pole, so the earlier steps exist mainly to reach it with time to spare.

Step 1: Engage an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney

Typical time needed: 1 to 3 weeks to select and engage

• Retain an attorney who focuses specifically on EB-5, not general immigration. The attorney is the anchor for everything that follows.
• Expect an initial consultation covering eligibility, the source-of-funds picture, and a realistic timeline given the investor's country of birth.
• An investor who has not started here by roughly the end of July is on a compressed path and should treat attorney selection as this week's priority.

Step 2: Evaluate regional centers and select a project

Typical time needed: 2 to 6 weeks of diligence

• Review the regional center's track record: capital repaid, petition approval history, and how many projects have reached completion and repayment.
• Assess the specific project, its job-creation cushion, its qualifying basis (rural, infrastructure, or high-unemployment TEA), and the position of EB-5 capital in the financing.
• This step runs in parallel with early source-of-funds work. It should not wait for it.

Step 3: Prepare source-of-funds documentation

Typical time needed: 2 to 6 months, occasionally longer

• This is the step that determines whether a September filing is realistic. Most investors are moving a substantial portion of their net worth and must document a lawful path for every dollar invested.
• Documentation commonly traces salary history, business income, property sales, gifts, inheritances, or loans, each with its own paper trail and, often, certified translations.
• Complexity drives the timeline. A single clean salary-and-savings history moves quickly. Multiple sources across several years and jurisdictions do not.
• If source of funds is not yet substantially underway by early summer, assume this is the binding constraint on making the deadline.

Step 4: Finalize the investment and file the I-526

Typical time needed: 1 to 3 weeks once funds and documentation are ready

• The investment is placed into the project's escrow or account per the offering terms, and the completed I-526 petition is assembled with the source-of-funds record.
• Build in a margin for the ordinary problems that only matter without one: a reversed wire, a delayed translation, a document that needs re-execution.
• The filing must be received on or before September 30, 2026. A petition in progress on October 1 does not qualify.

An investor beginning in the second half of the year can still make the deadline, though a complex source-of-funds picture leaves little slack. As immigration attorney Matthew Galati put it on a recent CanAm podcast, filing before the date preserves the protection, so "why give it up voluntarily."

What Filing After the Deadline Means

Missing September 30, 2026 does not end an investor's EB-5 options. The Regional Center program remains authorized through September 30, 2027, and petitions can still be filed in that window. What a later filing loses is the grandfathering protection. A petition filed after the deadline depends on the program being reauthorized to keep its footing, rather than being insulated under current law regardless of what Congress does.

The program has been reauthorized many times, and there is active advocacy to continue it, so a later filing is far from hopeless. But the grandfathering protection is available now to any investor who files in time, and it disappears for anyone who does not. It costs nothing beyond meeting the date. For any investor who can reach the deadline, filing before it is the straightforward course.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the EB-5 grandfathering deadline?

It is September 30, 2026. An I-526 petition filed on or before that date is grandfathered under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, meaning it continues to be adjudicated under current law even if the Regional Center program is not reauthorized after September 2027.

How long does it take to prepare an EB-5 filing?

Completing an I-526 filing commonly takes six to fourteen months. Source-of-funds documentation is usually the longest part of the process, ranging from a couple of months for a simple financial history to six months or more for multiple sources across several years or jurisdictions.

Is it too late to file before September 30, 2026?

It depends on the source-of-funds picture. An investor with straightforward, well-documented funds can still complete a filing on a compressed schedule. An investor who needs to build a complex source-of-funds record from scratch late in the summer may find the timeline very tight and should get a candid assessment from an EB-5 attorney.

What is source of funds, and why does it take so long?

Source of funds is the documented, lawful path of the money an investor is placing into the EB-5 project. It must trace every dollar to a legitimate origin, such as salary, business income, property sales, gifts, or inheritance. Assembling that record, often with certified translations, is the most time-consuming part of the EB-5 application process.

What happens if I file after the deadline?

Petitions can still be filed while the program is authorized through September 30, 2027, but a filing after September 30, 2026 does not carry grandfathering. It relies on the program being reauthorized to maintain its standing, rather than being protected under current law regardless of reauthorization.

Ready to Move Before the Deadline?

At CanAm Enterprises, we have guided EB-5 investors through this process for more than 20 years, and we know the months before a deadline like this are when preparation decides the outcome. For an investor still deciding, the next step is a conversation now, while there is time to complete the process properly. For an investor already underway, the priority is pushing source-of-funds documentation to the finish and confirming the project, so the filing lands before September 30.

Our track record reflects that experience: over $4.1 billion raised from more than 8,400 investors, more than $2.5 billion repaid, and more than 9,400 permanent green cards facilitated across 75-plus financed projects.

For a fuller discussion of the deadline and how to prepare, listen to our podcast with immigration attorney Matthew Galati and CanAm Investor Services CEO Peter Calabrese: The 2026 EB-5 Deadline: What Investors Must Know.

To find out whether the deadline is still within reach, contact CanAm at (212) 668-0690 or [email protected]. The sooner the conversation starts, the more options remain.