The regional center and project charge administrative fees on top of the qualifying capital; the government charges the I-526E petition fee, later the I-829 fee, and immigrant visa or adjustment fees for each family member, all in the current schedules. Professional fees for source-of-funds work and petition preparation are separate.
Separate the at-risk capital from everything that is not returned
The Okonjos should list three cost categories. The first is the capital contribution, which is placed at risk in the enterprise and may or may not be returned depending on the project's performance; it is never a fee. The second is administrative fees to the regional center or project, which are not part of the investment and are usually not refundable; the offering documents state them. The third is government and professional cost: the I-526E fee and the EB-5 integrity fund fee in the USCIS G-1055 schedule, consular immigrant visa fees or adjustment fees per family member, the I-829 fee later, medical examinations, and counsel's charges for the source-of-funds analysis and petition. Currency exchange costs on a large transfer are real and should be quoted in advance. None of these figures should be taken from a promoter's slide; read the schedules and the offering.
Hypothetical example: A specialty coffee roaster compares two regional-center offerings. The first review separates the required capital contribution from administrative charges, legal costs, document collection, government fees, travel and a reserve for later conditions-removal work. The offering documents settle whether a charge counts as capital; promotional summaries do not. The investor must also decide whether the project’s economic model and risk disclosures are acceptable independently of immigration eligibility. Confusing a fee with capital, or borrowing without documenting the debt and collateral, can create both financial and source-of-funds problems.