Trump Proposes $5 Million ‘Gold Card’ Visa to Replace EB-5 Investor Program

By A Staff Reporter

President Donald Trump unveiled a new visa program on Tuesday, proposing a “Trump Gold Card” that would provide permanent residency and a pathway to U.S. citizenship for individuals willing to invest $5 million. The plan is set to replace the EB-5 investor visa, which has been in place since 1990.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump emphasized the benefits of attracting high-net-worth individuals to the U.S. economy. “They’ll be wealthy, they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money, paying a lot of taxes, and employing a lot of people,” he said, expressing confidence that the program would be a success.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the new program would eliminate fraud and inefficiencies that have been associated with the EB-5 visa. Under the EB-5 program, foreign investors could qualify for a green card by investing around $1 million in a business that created at least 10 jobs. The gold card, which will function as a permanent residency visa, raises the financial threshold significantly but does not explicitly require job creation.

Investor visa programs are widely used around the world, with over 100 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, offering similar schemes. According to the Department of Homeland Security, approximately 8,000 EB-5 visas were issued in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2022. However, the program has faced scrutiny due to concerns over fraud and challenges in verifying the legal source of funds.

Trump suggested that the gold card program could be a significant revenue generator for the government. While the EB-5 program has a cap on the number of visas issued annually, he speculated that the U.S. could potentially sell 10 million gold cards to help reduce the national deficit. “It could be great, maybe it will be fantastic,” he remarked.

Although Congress traditionally sets the criteria for U.S. citizenship, Trump asserted that the gold card visa would not require congressional approval. He described it as “somewhat like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication,” adding that it could also benefit highly skilled individuals by allowing companies to sponsor talent.