If you are thinking about making an EB-5 investment, you may have noticed that many of them focus on real estate: large hotel projects, apartment buildings, or mixed-use developments in growing cities. Those have been the most common choices for years.
But these days, rural America offers a wider range of EB-5 opportunities in a variety of industries. Notably, rural EB-5 projects offer important advantages. Most will move through the immigration process more quickly, typically taking less time for visas. In addition, it opens up a wider range of investment types, not simply Class A commercial buildings and other large projects in major urban areas.
The Popularity of Rural Projects
Why have rural projects taken center stage? This came about when Congress passed the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) in 2022 with new EB-5 regulations. The law reserved 20 percent of all EB-5 visas for rural projects, or roughly 2,000 to 2,400 visas each year.
Since then, investors have placed more than $5 billion into these projects, a sevenfold increase over previous years. 1 Developers also have responded by launching far more rural offerings. Before 2022, rural projects made up about 1 percent of completed EB-5 deals, or just eight out of more than 750 tracked nationwide. Today, they have increased dramatically, accounting for roughly one-quarter of new projects entering the market. 2
Processing times have also improved. In some cases, the government has approved rural petitions in as little as four to eight months, compared with much longer timelines for other immigration cases. 3
Demand from investors reflects these advantages. In one study of more than 2,000 EB-5 investors in 2023-2024, about 59 percent chose rural projects, compared with 41 percent who chose high-unemployment (HUA) urban projects. 4 Government processing data tells a similar story. Between 2022 and 2025, rural cases accounted for approximately 81 percent actively processed EB-5 petitions. 5
As Robert Divine Esq., an experienced immigration attorney, has often noted, the rural visa set-aside represents one of the most important changes to the EB-5 program, largely because it improves visa availability.
Not surprisingly, investors are choosing the quickest path to their green cards.
What Rural Means
A rural EB-5 project is neither in major metropolitan areas nor towns with more than 20,000 people, resulting in financing in smaller communities and away from large city real estate.
Real estate projects still lead the EB-5 market, with nearly three-quarters of EB-5 investments focused on real estate. 6 But that share is starting to decline, particularly in rural areas where investments in other industries, like manufacturing, agriculture and energy, are playing a larger role. Simply put, you now have more investment choices than you did just a few years ago. 7
Expanding Choices
As EB-5 extends into rural markets, these investments increasingly support businesses that create ongoing work rather than just short-term construction jobs.
Take manufacturing, for instance. Rural America already has a strong manufacturing base, representing 14 percent of non-farm employment. 7 EB-5 projects in this sector build or expand factories that produce American-made goods. Typically, these facilities create direct, full-time jobs, which can simplify the immigration process by eliminating the need to review direct versus indirect job modeling.
Energy and other infrastructure projects continue to grow as well. Developers are building solar facilities, battery storage systems, and broadband networks in rural communities. These projects require significant capital, benefit from government support, and meet rising demand for electricity and data, especially as artificial intelligence drives energy consumption higher.
Agriculture and food production are mainstays in many rural economies, making them a natural fit for EB-5 investment. Projects range from large-scale farming operations to food processing and greenhouse facilities. They tend to create steady, local employment, though they also introduce risks that could impact the return of your investment, such as commodity price swings, weather events, and crop or livestock disruptions.
Healthcare and senior living projects, while less common, are becoming increasingly important as the U.S. population ages. Rural communities need hospitals, clinics, as well as senior housing. Many of these facilities already operate and serve proven demand, generating stable, long-term jobs.
Even investment into traditional industries is picking up. In some regions, coal mining operations have reopened or expanded in response to rising electricity demand and continued reliance on coal in steel production.8 At the same time, new opportunities are emerging in critical minerals and battery materials such as lithium, graphite, and rare earth elements. These materials support electric vehicles, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing, as the U.S. government continues to prioritize domestic supply chains.
Together, these developments highlight how EB-5 capital is moving into a broader range of industries, supporting both traditional and emerging sectors that drive long-term job creation in rural America.
What This Means for You
These changes are reshaping how EB-5 investors choose their projects.
Charlie Oppenheim, who managed visa allocation for many years in his former role as Chief of the Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State, has noted that the new rural set-aside categories are likely to remain “current” longer than traditional categories, meaning fewer backlogs and faster processing. For many investors, that timing advantage matters as much as the investment itself.
At the same time, the range of choices has expanded. Investors can now look beyond hotels and apartments to projects in manufacturing, energy, agriculture, and healthcare.
Each option comes with its unique investment risk. A factory operates differently than a hotel. A farming business faces different challenges than a real estate development. Success depends not just on the project, but on the experience and execution of the sponsor.
Rural EB-5 has become one of the most attractive paths to a green card. It also offers access to a broader and more dynamic set of investment opportunities than ever before.
For more information about EB-5 investments, click here.
Footnotes
1 CanAm Enterprises Rural EB-5 Explosion: Investment, Jobs, and Why Congress is Taking Notice
2 New York Post How canny foreigners are investing their way into a green card
3 Beyond EB-5 2026 Rural EB-5 Programs: Investor Guide, Priority Processing, Key Rules
4 EB-5 Coast to Coast How the RIA Reshaped EB-5: Rural Investments Take Center Stage
5 EB5Investors.com USCIS FOIA data reveals surge in Rural EB-5 processing as HUA petitions lag.
6 U.S. Government Accountability Office Immigrant Investor Program
7 USDA Manufacturing us Relatively More Important to the Rural Economy than the Urban Economy
8 IEA Coal 2022
