There are two EB-5 categories, direct and indirect. Direct EB-5 launched in 1990 with the establishment of the EB-5 program. A few years later, the Regional Center Pilot program was created as a means to streamline the business side of the EB-5 process. Over 30 years later, each category remains attractive to investors, with those preferring a hands-on approach opting for direct EB-5 and those wanting to leave the business management to Regional Centers going for indirect EB-5.

In the EB-5 Visa process there are two key petitions. The first is the I-526 or I-526e, which is the initial petition for the Conditional Green Card and the second is the I-829 to remove the conditions from that Green Card. USCIS primarily reviews the Source of Funds used for the investment during their I-526e adjudication, while traditionally their I-829 review solely revolves around whether the investment met the 2-year sustainment requirement and created the 10 jobs.

Investors in the EB-5 regional center program make a capital investment into a project by pooling their funds into a New Commercial Enterprise (NCE), which is overseen by a Regional Center.

Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, while in her final days of office, has introduced Bill H.R. 6937 to aggressively phase out the H-1B visa. At this time, the text summarizing the bill has not been released on Congress.gov.

In December 2025, the Gold Card (or Trump Gold Card) launched with some fanfare and much confusion. After all, the Gold Card sets out to solve a problem that already has a solution.