Trump’s New Gold Card vs. EB-5 Investment Green Card: What You Need to Know

What Is the Gold Card Program

• Foreign nationals may apply for U.S. lawful permanent residence by making a significant gift to the U.S. Government. For individuals, the required donation is $1 million; if a corporation or similar entity makes the gift on behalf of an individual, the required amount is $2 million.
• The program is to be administered through the Secretary of Commerce in coordination with the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security.
• These gifts are to serve as evidence of “exceptional business ability” or “national benefit,” and will be treated similarly, for visa adjudication purposes, as certain employment-based preference categories under existing law (EB-1 extraordinary ability, EB-2 exceptional ability, and national interest waivers) to the extent consistent with law.
• The gifts are to be deposited into a U.S. Treasury fund intended for promoting commerce and industry.
• The Executive Order sets a 90-day deadline for agencies to begin putting in place implementing regulations and processes: application and adjudication processes, specification of beginning date, fees, etc.

What Is the EB-5 Investment Green Card

• Statutory Program: The EB-5 immigrant investor visa program was established by Congress (Immigration statute). It grants conditional permanent residence to foreign nationals who invest in a U.S. business and create or preserve jobs.
• Investment Amounts: The required investment is generally $1.05 million in a standard area, or $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), under the reauthorized rules.
• Job Creation Requirement: The EB-5 requires that the investment create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
• Regional Center Option: EB-5 has a “Regional Center” model, where investors pool funds, often in real estate or infrastructure projects. The Regional Centers usually develop projects in the Targeted Employment Areas (TEA), which require only $800,000 investment. The Regional Centers create necessary jobs, oversee the project, and pay interest on the invested funds.
• Visa Caps, Retrogression: Although there are visa caps, applicants can live and work in the U.S. while waiting for their Green Card. For citizens of China and India, this ability is slightly limited; however, that is also possible.
• Processing Time: Although there is no expedited processing option available for this category of Green Cards, investments into rural, high-unemployment, and infrastructure projects are processed faster.

Key Differences Between the Gold Card and EB-5 Green Card

1. The Gold Card requires an applicant to make a gift. This means that an applicant cannot ask for this money back. The EB-5 Program requires an investment. Although by law, the invested money must be “at risk”, a good investment will allow the investor to make money along the way and get the invested amount back after the Green Card is issued.
2. The Gold Card requires gifting $1,000,000, while the EB-5 Green Card can be obtained with only $800,000 invested.
3. The Gold Card is essentially a Green Card approved under the categories EB-1 and EB-2. Both categories have certain requirements, which an applicant must meet to qualify (such as exceptional abilities in business and benefit to the United States). However, the Executive Order signed by President Trump basically stipulates that the person who was able to make and is willing to gift $1 million to the U.S. has met those requirements. The EB-5 Program has its own requirements, mainly related to the investment rather than the investor.
4. The categories EB-1, EB-2, and EB-5 have a different number of visas available annually. As a result, the wait time and the processing time are different. As of right now, the wait time under the categories EB-1 and EB-2 is actually longer than under the EB-5 category. However, that could change if applicants gifting $1 million would be given a priority over other EB-1 and EB-2 applicants.
5. It appears that the Gold Card would have its own expedited processing time and fees. The EB-5 Program does not have an expedited processing option available. However, depending on the area of investment, some applications are processed faster than others.
6. The Gold Card is not a separate category; it is a regular Green Card under the categories EB-1 and/or EB-2, with a separate processing implemented by the current Administration. And, as a result, such processing can be (1) challenged in court and (2) easily changed or even revoked by the Administration in the future. The EB-5 Program was enacted by the Congress and it is embedded into the existing law, which is a lot more difficult to challenge, change, or revoke.

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