The latest updates on President Trump’s “Gold Card” proposal and how it relates to EB-5
On February 25, 2025, the Trump Administration announced their intent to introduce a “Gold Card”, which allegedly grants permanent residency in the United States to eligible candidates for a price of $5 million USD.
Details are still emerging, and few specifics are currently available about the proposal, but here are the facts as it relates to the current EB-5 program:
- Modification vs. Termination: While initial news reports framed the Gold Card as a replacement for the EB-5 visa, the latest updates indicate that the administration intends to “modify” EB-5, a statement attributed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. EB-5 has been modified and improved multiple times since it was first created in 1990, most recently through the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA).
- EB-5 Changes Must be Authorized Through Congress: The EB-5 program is codified into law, with the regional center program reauthorized by Congress through 2027 via the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA). Any changes to the program can only be made through Congressional action.
- Investment Amounts Cannot Change Overnight: While the Gold Card proposal would entail a significant hike in investment thresholds for immigration-by-investment visas, changes to investment thresholds, outside of the automatic increases based upon the consumer price index commencing on January 1, 2027, must be made through Congressional action.
- Current and Prospective Investor Protections under the RIA: The RIA includes provisions that protects investors that have filed an I-526E petition by September 30, 2026. This clause, commonly referred to as the grandfathering of petitions, provides protections to investors that file petitions prior to September 30, 2026 against a termination of the EB-5 program. Legally, this means USCIS must continue processing petitions that applicants file prior to the aforementioned date, even if the EB-5 program were to be discontinued.
