During a question and answer session at President Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting on February 26, the 47th President engaged with the press regarding a proposal to replace the EB-5 visa program for foreign investors with a $5 million “gold card” as a pathway to U.S. citizenship.
Background.
The EB-5 program, administered by USCIS, allows investors, along with their spouses and unmarried children under 21, to apply for a Green Card if they invest in a U.S. commercial enterprise and create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.
Full-time employment means that a qualifying employee must hold a position that requires a minimum of 35 working hours per week. In the case of the regional center program, full-time employment also includes positions created indirectly that require at least 35 working hours per week.
A job-sharing arrangement in which two or more qualifying employees share a full-time position will be considered full-time employment, provided that the total hourly requirement per week is met.
In 2021, the EB-5 program underwent several updates, which included reforms to specific designations of Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs).
Trump’s proposal.
In response to a reporter’s question at the meeting about whether the United States’ immigration program was properly monetized, Trump remarked, “It hasn’t been properly run.”
Trump’s “gold card” modification of the EB-5 program would require a $5 million investment for a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The President then asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whom Trump described as one of the individuals “responsible” for the initiative, to provide more details.
Lutnick, a former chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Group, mentioned that the previous $1 million EB-5 projects in the United States “didn’t work out” and were “poorly overseen” and “poorly executed.”
He added, “The idea is that we will establish a proper business model, modify the EB-5 agreement to a $5 million investment, and ensure a legitimate investment using the EB-5 program.”
Lutnick emphasized that 200,000 of these visas could generate $1 trillion to help pay down the United States’ debt.
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