Ex-US President Donald Trump on Tuesday revealed his proposal to launch a new "Gold Card" visa, providing a route to American citizenship in exchange for USD 5 million. The program would supercede the EB-5 investor visa, which has been around for more than three decades.
"They’ll be wealthy, they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money, paying taxes, and creating jobs," Trump declared from the Oval Office, sounding optimistic that the program will succeed.
Commerce Secretary affirms plan
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reaffirmed that the Trump Gold Card would formally supersede the EB-5 visa in two weeks.
The EB-5 program, established in 1990, permits foreign investors to acquire US green cards by investing approximately USD 1 million in companies that generate a minimum of 10 jobs. Lutnick contended that the Gold Card program would cut out fraud and inefficiencies and bring high-net-worth individuals.
A higher price for permanent residency
Unlike the EB-5 visa, with its limited annual approvals, Trump proposed that the government sell a maximum of 10 million Gold Cards to alleviate the federal deficit.
“It’s somewhat like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication,” Trump explained. “It’s a road to citizenship for people of wealth and great talent.” He proposed that businesses could sponsor top talent through the program, granting them long-term US residency.
Gold cards to follow global 'Golden Visa' trend
Investment visas are widespread globally, with nations such as the UK, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada, and Italy having comparable schemes. In excess of 100 nations have some type of "golden visa" scheme today, says Henley and Partners, an investment migration advisory company.
No Congressional approval required?
Trump asserted that Congressional permission would not be needed to enact the Gold Card visa, though US legislators generally decide immigration and citizenship criteria.
The plan will prove controversial, with critics focusing on its absence of job creation prerequisites, a key tenet of the EB-5 program. Critics have also pointed to national security threats and possible fraud related to investor visas in general.
The Department of Homeland Security’s most recent data showed that 8,000 people obtained EB-5 investor visas in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2022. The Congressional Research Service had previously identified fraud risks in the EB-5 program, including difficulty verifying the legitimacy of investment funds.
As the US gets ready for the 2024 election, Trump's Gold Card visa plan will likely be a central point of discussion in immigration policy and economic growth debates.