The “gold card” would replace EB-5 visas, which were created by Congress in 1990 to generate foreign investment.
President Donald Trump announced plans to introduce a new visa program called the “gold card” visa, which will offer a path to citizenship for a price tag of $5 million. This new program is designed to replace an existing 35-year-old visa program for investors.
In the Oval Office, Trump expressed his belief that those who obtain the “gold card” visa will be wealthy, successful individuals who will contribute to the economy by spending money, paying taxes, and creating job opportunities. He predicts that this new visa program will be highly successful.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick revealed that the upcoming “Trump Gold Card” program will replace the current EB-5 visas within two weeks. The EB-5 visa program was established by Congress in 1990 to attract foreign investment, offering visas to individuals who invest around $1 million in a business that creates jobs for at least 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.
