US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, February 25, that he plans to introduce a “gold card” visa, offering a path to citizenship for a USD 5 million investment, which would replace the 35-year-old EB-5 investor visa programme.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump emphasized that the new visa would attract wealthy and successful individuals, who would contribute significantly to the U.S. economy by spending money, paying taxes, and creating jobs. He expressed confidence that the program would be highly successful.
“They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it’s going to be extremely successful,” POTUS said.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the “Trump Gold Card” would replace the EB-5 visa programme within two weeks.
The EB-5 programme, introduced by Congress in 1990, was designed to generate foreign investment in US businesses. It grants visas to individuals who invest at least USD 1 million in a business that employs a minimum of 10 people.
President #DonaldTrump announced plans to introduce a 'gold card' visa, offering a path to #citizenship for $5 million, replacing the existing 35-year-old EB-5 visa for investors.
— DD India (@DDIndialive) February 26, 2025
He announced that a “Gold Card", the premium version of a Green Card, as a pathway to citizenship… pic.twitter.com/m5PtRWqhon
However, the programme has faced criticism over the years, particularly regarding fraud risks, including concerns over the legality of funds invested by applicants, an AP report stated.
The new “gold card” visa, which is essentially a green card, would offer permanent legal residency and a pathway to citizenship. Lutnick suggested that raising the cost of entry for investors would eliminate fraud and inefficiencies associated with the EB-5 programme, providing a more reliable method of attracting foreign investment.
The new visa would not only target individuals with wealth but also those with exceptional talent, offering a way for companies to sponsor highly skilled workers in exchange for long-term residency status.
Although Trump did not mention specific job creation requirements for the new visa, he hinted that the federal government could sell as many as 10 million “gold cards” to help reduce the national deficit.
This idea, he suggested, could be a significant step toward addressing the nation’s financial challenges. The “gold card” visa would allow individuals and companies to invest in the US, with wealthy individuals funding the process for skilled workers to gain entry into the country, thereby creating opportunities for talent to thrive, reports said.
Investor visas are a common practice around the world, with more than 100 countries offering “golden visas” to attract wealthy individuals. As per data, countries such as the US, the UK, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada, and Italy have similar programmes aimed at bolstering their economies through foreign investment.
Trump also noted that the “gold card” visa would bypass the need for congressional approval, despite the fact that Congress traditionally determines the qualifications for citizenship. “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.
