Trump’s Gold Card Visa: $5M Buys a Green Card?

On February 25, 2025, President Donald Trump announced his intention to replace the EB-5 program with a new Gold Card visa. This program would require a five-million-dollar investment and grant green card benefits, including a pathway to citizenship. The primary objective of this program is to attract wealthy individuals to invest in the U.S. economy and help reduce the national deficit.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the Gold Card visa would replace the EB-5 program within two weeks. But the proposal lacks specific details. How would jobs be created? What requirements would prevent fraud and malicious actors coming to the United States? President Trump claimed that millions of investors could take use this program, but how do we know for sure? Let’s dive into how immigration visas work, and what is or is not possible with this golden ticket that puts Willy Wonka to shame.

Immigration Law and Legislative Process

The United States immigration system runs primarily under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Creating and amending immigration laws lies with Congress, as granted by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 of the U.S. Constitution. This provision permits Congress to make laws that are necessary and proper, including the creation of visas for individuals seeking entry to the United States.

To establish a new visa program, a bill must be passed by Congress and signed into law. Even if a president proposes new immigration policies, visa programs require congressional action to be eliminated or created. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld Congress’s power over immigration, and the delegated authority for the U.S. President carrying out constitutional responsibilities in foreign affairs, as recently stated in Trump v. Hawaii (a 2018 Supreme Court decision).

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program has been around since 1990. In 1992, Congress created the Immigrant Investor Program (also known as the Regional Center Program), which sets aside EB-5 visas for participants who invest in commercial enterprises associated with regional centers approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The goal is simple: a visa category designed to attract foreign investment to the United States. Foreign nationals can obtain permanent residency by investing in American businesses that create at least ten jobs per investor. The required investment amount is $1,050,000, but it can be reduced to $800,000 if the investment is made in rural or high-unemployment areas, or through a government-approved infrastructure project. Future adjustments will be tied to inflation using the change in the Consumer Price Index from March 15, 2022, to the date of adjustment. These adjustments will occur every five years (with the first such adjustment occurring in 2027). In other words, put the right amount of money into the economy, hire enough workers, and you too can have the American Dream with a green card. It’s just business.

Investors and their dependents who successfully participate in the EB-5 program can apply for U.S. citizenship after five years of permanent residency. The program has undergone significant reforms, including the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, which included measures to prevent fraud.

Barriers to Implementing the “Gold Card” Visa

One major problem with President Trump’s Gold Card visa is that the president does not have the authority to create new visa programs on his own. Immigration laws, including those establishing visa categories, are under Congress’s jurisdiction. The EB-5 program itself was created by an act of Congress, and any changes or Gold Card replacements would need new legislation.

President Trump’s claim that the Gold Card visa does not require congressional approval is missing information for the average person, or even the average immigration attorney, from knowing how the visa is possible. While the President can influence immigration policy through executive actions and agency rulemaking, these powers do not extend to unilaterally creating new visa categories.

Opposition

Even if President Trump requested legislation for the Gold Card visa, Congress may not pass it. Immigration policies that benefit wealthy investors could be considered controversial. The idea of buying U.S. citizenship may fall flat with voters, so members of Congress may not want to follow through and vote on it.

Public and Ethical Concerns

Golden visa programs have been criticized worldwide for enabling money laundering and providing entry to individuals with questionable backgrounds. Several countries, including the United Kingdom, have revoked their golden visa schemes due to concerns over fraud and security risks.

Given these international concerns, there may be significant pushback against a Gold Card visa in the United States. The program would prioritize wealth over other visas.

Ethical Viability and Demand

President Trump’s proposal also assumes that millions of investors would be willing to pay five million dollars each to participate in the Gold Card program. It remains to be seen what the actual investor count would be. But it would benefit the United States to have wealth flow into the economy.

Square Peg in a Round Hole

Despite the barriers to implementing a standalone Gold Card visa, President Trump could attempt to introduce regulatory changes within the existing EB-5 statutory framework. Under this approach, USCIS could issue regulations specifying that a five-million-dollar investment qualifies as a financial amount that presumptively creates at least ten jobs for U.S. workers through pre-approved regional centers, and tacking on the investment to those pre-approved regional centers that has projects already under development and construction.

Another regulatory avenue could involve USCIS implementing its own jobs program to facilitate the employment of U.S. citizens in compliance with EB-5 requirements. In exchange for a higher investment amount of five million dollars, USCIS could allocate funds to job creation initiatives that would directly satisfy the EB-5 visa program's employment criteria. This approach would enable President Trump to promote the Gold Card visa concept without bypassing congressional authority, leveraging existing immigration laws to achieve similar goals. And if rising construction costs become an issue, an injection of fresh funds would help put the project on solid footing.

But these regulatory amendments (which are mere guesswork from yours truly) could still face legal scrutiny. Any significant changes could be challenged in court, particularly if they circumvent congressional intent. Nevertheless, by working within the established EB-5 framework, the Trump administration could attempt to align the Gold Card visa with existing statutory requirements. Until we get the details from the Trump Administration, we can only guess as to how this Gold Card visa will be implemented. But EB-5 is here to stay.

Wrapping Up

The EB-5 program has been a longstanding route for foreign investors seeking U.S. residency, and Congress reaffirmed this visa in 2022. President Trump's proposed Gold Card visa faces major challenges that make its implementation highly unlikely without congressional approval. We can only guess as to how this Gold Card will be issued until we hear more information! But if this Gold Card visa is issued, and enough people sign up, that could be a great start in investing in the United States and its future prosperity.

If you have a questions about this article, immigration, or other legal issues you can reach out to info@moorelegalcounsel.com