Overview

• Speaking to the press on February 25, 2025, President Trump announced an idea for a new “gold card” visa and pathway to citizenship for foreign investors paying $5 million.
• Additional information has not been provided but speculation abounds that this might replace the current EB-5 Investor Program.
• The goal of this gold card program would be to:

1. Simplify the process.
2. Generate additional revenue in order to further the president’s agenda of reducing the overall U.S. deficit (President Trump claims he will sell a million of these gold cards at $5 million each).
3. Address fraud (according to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick).

• What remains unclear:
  • If this will be a $5 million investment or simply a fee/payment to the United States that will encompass all requirements.
  • Is the price $5 million or could this be another Trump negotiation tactic?
  • Will this be a separate program entirely or will it replace the current EB-5 program?

Background

• Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. 
• Under the current EB-5 investor program, the requirements are as follows:
  • Invest in a new commercial enterprise.
  • Must invest the required amount of capital in a new commercial enterprise that will create full-time positions for at least 10 qualifying employees.
  • Must invest a minimum of $1,050,000 (or $800,000 for targeted employment area investments).
• President Trump implied during this press conference that this new gold card option could be rolled out as early as the next two weeks (or at least more details will be made available by then).
• Under this new gold card program, it is unclear if there will still be investment requirements as well as job creation requirements of if it will simply be a pay-to-play situation.
• In 2022, Congress passed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 that extended the EB-5 Regional Center Program through September 2027.

Congressional vs. Executive Authority

• The question this raises is what authority does President Trump have to eliminate the EB-5 program entirely and replace it with this gold card option.
• The president can propose changes to existing immigration programs but only Congress can pass new laws and amend existing ones.
• Based on the little details shared so far, it certainly appears that congressional approval will be required which means this will take time.

Cozen O’Connor’s Analysis

• As any immigration professional can attest, the past two months has seen a flurry of immigration-related executive orders and this will be another one that we will need to monitor and analyze accordingly once additional details are made available.
• For anyone in the early stages of the EB-5 process, we strongly recommend getting a case filed as soon as possible because once filed, you would be able to take advantage of the existing program as currently constructed.