BENGALURU: In yet another unexpected move, US President Donald Trump's administration has decided to replace the EB-5 visa programme with the 'Gold Card' visa. This will be a big blow for Indian investors and professionals awaiting green cards.
The new immigration initiative offers wealthy foreign nationals US residency and a direct path to citizenship for a fee of $5 million. Earlier, under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, individuals could invest a minimum $1,050,000 to obtain US residency if the investment could create full-time positions for at least 10 qualifying employees. Now, with the introduction of the Gold Card visa, the investment requirement has increased five-fold to $5 million.
President Trump told the media in a briefing at the Oval Office: “We’re going to be selling a gold card. You have a green card. This is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and that’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card.”
This announcement also comes at a time when many Indians started seeing the EB-5 visa as an alternative to H-1B visas.
Somdutta Singh, serial entrepreneur, Founder and CEO Assiduus Global and an investor with Karma Holdings told The New Indian Express that unlike EB-5, the Gold Card does not require investors to create jobs, focusing purely on financial investment.
Wealthy Indian nationals, capable of meeting the $5 million investment requirement, could benefit greatly from expedited residency and citizenship, providing immediate security and business opportunities in the US. However, for many skilled Indian professionals who have been waiting years in lengthy green card backlogs, this initiative is unlikely to offer relief, as it primarily targets affluent investors rather than skilled workers.
This steep increase dramatically alters the landscape for Indian investors.
The financial commitment is very large even if the employment creation requirement has been removed, admits Dhaval Jariwala, partner in chartered accountants firm PNDJ & Associates LLP. He says the Gold Card programme in a way ensures only those foreigners with strong financial backing get permanent residency.
"As of December 2024, approximately 234,000 employment-based adjustment applications are pending, and with an annual per-country cap of about 25,620 visas, many Indian professionals face decades-long waits. The new Gold Card programme, focused exclusively on wealth rather than employment or skills, doesn't ease this backlog but offers a quicker alternative pathway for wealthy investors," said Somdutta Singh of Assiduus.
Experts point out that this could potentially widen the gap between affluent and skilled immigrants, influencing the broader Indian-American community dynamics.
“It’s pulling the EB-5 further, and at the same time it is so much different from that," Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO, Leverage Edu said, adding that $5 million is a big tag. "But I think we are going to be surprised by how many people lap this up! India, like everywhere else, has large sums of people for whom this will make great sense," he said.
As the Gold Card policy takes effect, its impacts on immigration dynamics, economic equality, and international relations will be closely observed, experts say.