A golden card worth up to $5 million replacing the EB-5 investment visa program is expected to attract global elites to the US, helping to boost the country's economy .
On February 25, US President Donald Trump announced plans for a new immigration program, called the Golden Card, which would see investors pay nearly five times the current price for residency and a “path to citizenship.”
The program, details of which are expected to be released in two weeks, would replace the current EB-5 “green card” program, which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called “riddled with nonsense, fabrication and fraud.”
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| US President Donald Trump expects to sell 1 million gold cards and more. Photo: Getty |
The White House chief said he “would sell a gold card” and “would price it at around $5 million (the most expensive gold card in the world ) and that would give you the privileges of a green card, plus it would be a path to citizenship.”
The program, which Skift describes as aimed at attracting “wealthy, successful people,” signals a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy, one that is aimed at securing economic benefits even as the administration continues to take a hardline stance on undocumented immigrants.
Mr Trump’s plan comes at a time when the European Union is pressuring member states to withdraw or tighten investment residency programmes that have fuelled house price bubbles and have a marginal benefit on GDP, as well as increasing the risk of tax evasion and corruption.
What is special about the golden card (golden visa)?
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stressed that the “golden card” would effectively replace the “ridiculous” EB-5 program, which currently allows investors to obtain green cards through business investment in the country. Meanwhile, the gold card allows foreign investors to invest in projects in the US, create jobs, and then apply for a visa to immigrate to the US. “Of course, they will have to go through a due diligence process to make sure they are great, world-class global citizens,” Mr. Lutnick noted. According to the official, the direct financial contribution would serve as a streamlined path to citizenship, helping to reduce administrative delays and contribute to reducing the US trade deficit.
According to Mr. Donald Trump, the gold card is a "green card plus" and he wants to sell about 1 million gold cards, equivalent to about 5,000 billion USD and maybe more. "1 million cards will be worth 5,000 billion USD and if we sell 10 million of these cards, the total is 50,000 billion USD," Mr. Trump said at a press conference on February 25.
The US currently has a debt of 35,000 billion USD.
What is the EB-5 program?
The U.S. Congress created the EB-5 program in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. The program, administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), provides a path to citizenship for qualified foreign investors.
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| The US EB-5 immigrant investor visa program is facing criticism for fraud and inefficiency. Illustration photo: Shuttlestock |
Under this program, investors (and their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21) are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence if they invest $1.05 million in a new commercial enterprise or a minimum of $800,000 in a designated employment area such as a rural area or an area with a high unemployment rate. Additionally, the investment must create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers, ensuring that the program directly contributes to job growth.
Despite its economic benefits, the EB-5 program has faced criticism for fraud and inefficiency. Some lawmakers have likened the program to a “Ponzi scheme” and called for increased oversight and reform.
Currently, China and India are the two countries that consume the most EB-5 visas. Each year, the US issues 10,000 EB-5 visas. Because the waiting time for a green card can be up to many months or years, cardholders can apply for US citizenship.
What is the impact of replacing the green card with a yellow card?
A 2017 AP report found that 75 percent of EB-5 investment visas were issued to Chinese nationals. The U.S. collected at least $7.7 billion and issued more than 40,000 visas to Chinese investors and their families.
According to John Hu, founder of Hong Kong-based John Hu Immigration Consulting, the EB-5 visa is mainly used by Hong Kong and mainland Chinese residents who own businesses in the US or want their children to study here. Raising the investment threshold to $5 million would be a barrier for many Chinese citizens currently participating in the EB-5 program. The total number of applicants would drop significantly if the golden card replaced the EB-5 because global tax obligations have always been a concern for the wealthy.
“This could be a negotiating tactic to increase investment in the US, but given the amount, I don’t think demand from Korea will increase significantly,” said Kim Ji Sun, president of Dae Yang Immigration Law Group in Seoul, South Korea.
Poorvi Chothani, founder of global immigration law firm LawQuest, said the number of people applying for investment to immigrate to the US would definitely decrease if Mr. Trump's executive order is approved because $5 million is out of reach for many people.
One factor that could deter Mr Trump's interest in a gold card is the US global tax system: Any green card holder or US citizen is subject to US taxes, even if they do not reside in the US.
While the investment required under the new program will be beyond the reach of many people willing to spend their entire savings to secure green cards for themselves or their children, immigration lawyers and experts say a segment of the ultra-wealthy will still use the program for certain advantages.
This additional green card privilege, experts say, would eliminate taxes on any non-US income, which is good news for startup founders and wealthy business owners because it would save them overseas taxes that could offset a $5 million payout over a few years.
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| According to President Donald Trump, the yellow card is an opportunity to generate revenue for the US government because "people who can pay $5 million, they will create jobs" and "they will also have to pay taxes on that". Photo: skift.com |
Mr Trump has promised gold card holders that their global income outside the US will not be taxed, a better deal than US citizens, who are taxed globally, said Russell A Stamets, a partner at the business law firm Circle of Counsels in New Delhi, India. If a business owner has significant income from markets outside the US, the tax savings alone could exceed $5 million over a few years. However, the current details of this privilege are unclear.
Some experts say EB-5 is a law and cannot be changed by executive order. “It has to be passed by Congress and that can’t happen overnight. Moreover, Donald Trump would also have to change the citizenship law if he were to implement the new golden card proposal,” said Rajneesh Pathak, founder and CEO of Global North Residency & Citizenship.
EB-5 is a long-term source of cheap capital for real estate developers and it is not easy to cancel it overnight, said Arindam Sengupta, co-founder of education consultancy Edufund.
The US Congress will decide the criteria for citizenship, but President Trump said the “gold card” will not need congressional approval. According to Donald Trump, the gold card is an opportunity to generate revenue for the US government because “people who can pay $5 million, they will create jobs” and “they will also have to pay taxes on that.”
Global trends in yellow cards
While the US experiments with its “gold card,” other countries are reshaping their visa programs to attract talent and investment. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rolled out a series of innovative visas, including a 10-year residency for content creators and a “green visa” for environmental innovators. These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to build a dynamic, globally competitive economy by welcoming highly skilled professionals and investors.
Portugal, Canada and Australia have also revamped their visa programs to attract millions of dollars in investment.
More than 100 countries around the world offer “golden visas” to wealthy individuals, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy, according to consultancy firm Henley & Partners. But these programs are not without controversy. Critics say “golden visas” create a hierarchical immigration system that favors the wealthy and opens the door to corruption, money laundering and other security threats.
In response, countries like Ireland and the Netherlands have ended their “golden visa” programs in 2023 and 2024. Spain recently voted to scrap the program in April.
MAI HUONG (synthesis)
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