Gold card program would begin in roughly two weeks. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick defended President Donald Trump’s proposed “gold card” visa program, touting that there were already “250,000 waiting in line” for the visa pathway that the gold card program could soon replace.
![[The gold card program, which Lutnick said would replace the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, has not launched, so there is no way to apply for it]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/21/22/39/SEI240853659.jpg)
But it’s unclear where Lutnick is obtaining the “250,000” number. Or where to sign up. The Independent has asked the White House, the Commerce Department and Citizenship and Immigration Services for comment. EB-5s were created in 1990 as a method for immigrants to obtain green cards. A person must invest at least $1 million in a company –or $800k in a low-income area – that employs at least 10 people.
However, the program has often been criticized for posing a security risk to the U.S. and being an easy avenue for fraud to occur. The U.S. allocates approximately 18,700 EB-5 visas and caps the number that can be given to individuals from a specific country. In 2024, more than 4,500 EB-5 visas were issued.
Under Trump’s gold card visas, wealthy foreigners could invest $5 million in exchange for permanent residency. The president indicated there would be no cap on the number of gold cards issued, as he explained the federal government could sell one million.
Lutnick seemingly echoed that while explaining they could issue gold cards to all alleged 250,000 people waiting in line. The commerce secretary assured people that all applicants would be properly vetted and subject to U.S. taxes. “200,000 of these gold, green cards is $1 trillion to pay down our debt and that’s why the president is doing it,” Lutnick said. “Because we are going to balance this budget and we are going to pay off the debt under President Trump.”.
