President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday his intention to introduce a new “gold card” visa program that includes a pathway to citizenship for a fee of $5 million. This new initiative would replace the existing investor visa program that has been in place for 35 years.
During a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump emphasized that the beneficiaries of this program would be individuals who are wealthy, successful, contribute significantly to the economy through spending, tax payments, and job creation. He expressed optimism about the potential success of this new visa program.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick detailed that the proposed “Trump Gold Card” would be implemented within two weeks, effectively replacing the current EB-5 visa scheme. The EB-5 visas, established by Congress in 1990 to attract foreign investment, require individuals to invest around $1 million in a business that employs a minimum of 10 people.
Lutnick said the gold card — actually a green card, or permanent legal residency — would raise the price of admission for investors and do away with fraud and “nonsense” that he said characterize the EB-5 program. Like other green cards, it would include a path to citizenship.
About 8,000 people obtained investor visas in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2022, according to the Homeland Security Department’s most recent Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. The Congressional Research Service reported in 2021 that EB-5 visas pose risks of fraud, including verification that funds were obtained legally.
Investors’ visas are common around the world. Henley & Partners, an advisory firm, says more than 100 countries around the world offer “golden visas” to wealthy individuals, including the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy.
Trump made no mention of the requirements for job creation. And, while the number of EB-5 visas is capped, Trump mused that the federal government could sell 10 million “gold cards” to reduce the deficit. He said it “could be great, maybe it will be fantastic.”
“It’s somewhat like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication, it’s a road to citizenship for people, and essentially people of wealth or people of great talent, where people of wealth pay for those people of talent to get in, meaning companies will pay for people to get in and to have long, long term status in the country,” he said.
Congress determines qualifications for citizenship, but Trump said “gold cards” would not require congressional approval.
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