Trump wants to replace EB-5 investor visas with $5 million gold cards for wealthy foreigners. Here’s how the programs differ

President Donald Trump said he is planning to sell a $5 million “gold card” to wealthy foreigner investors, giving them the ability to work and live in the U.S. with a path toward becoming a citizen, as part of a program that would replace the current EB-5 investor visas.

EB-5s are essentially a green card for permanent legal residency, created some 35 years ago to drum up foreign investment. The visa requires foreigners to spend $1 million (give or take) on a company that employs at least 10 people, according to the Associated Press.

Of the potential buyers of the proposed gold card, Trump said Tuesday: “They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it’s going to be extremely successful.”

Here’s what to know about Trump’s gold card.

How does the gold card differ from a green card or EB-5 visa?

Newly appointed commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump gold card would increase the financial bar for investors from $1 million to $5 million, and do away with what he calls the “nonsense” or fraud that he said now characterizes the EB-5 program. He said the change will happen in two weeks.

The biggest difference between the gold card and a green card is the gold card provides a much faster route to unlimited residency and the ability to work in the U.S. for these wealthy foreign investors.How many gold cards would be available versus EB-5 visas?

How many gold cards would be available versus EB-5 visas?

A total of 18,786 EB-5 visas are available for the 2025 financial year. Meanwhile, Trump has suggested millions of gold cards could be sold, which would raise revenue which he desperately needs to fund his enormous tax cuts and domestic agenda.

In the past, Trump and his family business have made use of the EB-5 program for their own benefit. When asked if Russian oligarchs could make use of the gold card program, Trump responded, “Yeah, possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.”

Can Trump replace the EB-5 visa?

The EB-5 visa program was created by Congress in 1990 to create jobs and increase foreign investment in the economy, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Congress has reauthorized the program through September 30, 2027 through the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act.

While Trump said his “gold card” would not need Congressional approval, “the president does not have authority to strike down an act of Congress, including the existing EB-5 program,” according to legal experts at the law firm Greenberg Traurig’s Immigration & Compliance Practice.