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Former President Donald Trump announced a new “gold card” visa on Tuesday, which would replace the 35-year-old EB-5 investor visa program.
For a fee of $5 million, the gold card would lead to citizenship and attract affluent individuals who would contribute to the economy through spending and job creation.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the gold card would increase the investment threshold and address fraud issues associated with the EB-5 program.
This new visa option would also provide a pathway to citizenship. In the year ending September 30, 2022, about 8,000 investor visas were issued, but the EB-5 program has faced scrutiny for potential fraud risks.
Investor visas are common worldwide, with over 100 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Spain, Greece, and Canada, offering “golden visas” to wealthy individuals, according to Henley & Partners.
Trump did not discuss the job creation requirements tied to these visas. He proposed that the federal government could sell 10 million “gold cards” to help reduce the national deficit, calling the initiative potentially “great” or “fantastic.”
He described the “gold card” as a more sophisticated version of a green card, providing a pathway to citizenship for wealthy individuals and exceptional talent, allowing companies to sponsor them for long-term residency. Trump asserted that this proposal would not require congressional approval.
(Newsroom staff only edited this story for style from a syndicated feed)
