President Trump announced on Tuesday, February 25th, that he intends to replace the EB-5 investor visa with “Gold Card” visas.
This Gold Visa Program would provide green cards to individuals who could pay the $5 million dollar cost. The gold visa, an avenue for residency adopted by various countries, would replace the current EB-5 visa.
The EB-5 visa is an investor visa, which enables individuals to obtain their green cards by investing into commercial enterprises and creating job openings in the United States. The EB-5 visa program was established in 1990 and has allowed millions of investors overseas to obtain green cards and eventually their citizenship.
In replacing EB-5 visas with Gold Card Visas, President Trump said on Tuesday that the $5 million fee (compared to the approximately $1 million investment requirement under EB-5) will both welcome increased wealth into the United States and create even more job openings for US citizens. The United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick also noted that the Gold Card Visa program could be a successful reform to the EB-5 program by strengthening the vetting process and decreasing the likelihood of fraudulent investments.
If you have any questions surrounding the Golden Card or potential changes to the EB-5 visa program, contact us and we would be happy to speak with you.