Investors Archives - Colombo & Hurd, PL

7 min read

Trump Gold Card vs. EB-5: Investment Visa and Green Card Comparison Guide

On September 19, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to set out his goals for the Gold Card program, facilitating expedited immigration for individuals who make significant financial contributions to the United States. The Order directs the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, to establish a program with the following structure:

Individual contributions: $1 million for expedited immigrant visas

Corporate sponsorship: $2 million when paid by a corporation or similar entity on behalf of an individual

Colombo & Hurd Partner Salvatore “Sal” Picataggio, whose practice is focused heavily on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, shares his insights on the proposed Trump Gold Card program in comparison to EB-5.

The Gold Card’s $1 million price point could position it against EB-5’s current investment requirements of $800,000 for Targeted Employment Areas (TEA) and $1.05 million for non-TEA investments.

As outlined in the Executive Order, qualifying individuals could obtain a “Trump Gold Card” by contributing $1 million directly to the U.S. Government. Businesses have a separate option: a “Trump Corporate Gold Card”, priced at $2 million, which can be transferred and used to sponsor a single foreign national for U.S. immigration benefits.

According to the Trumpcard.gov website, recipients of these cards would purportedly see their cases processed in record time and gain Lawful Permanent Resident status under the EB-1 and EB-2 categories.

In addition, the administration has previewed a higher-tier option: the “Trump Platinum Card.” With a $5 million threshold, this premium pathway has been announced but not yet finalized, and further details are expected in future policy releases.

Earlier in June 2025, the administration had launched a signup website for the program, which attracted 70,000 initial registrations from prospective investors worldwide. However, the gold card immigration program continues to face significant legal and tax obstacles that could substantially limit its appeal to investors. These challenges raise questions about the program’s long-term viability compared to the established EB-5 pathway.

The president suggested that individuals who participate in this U.S. gold card visa program would benefit the U.S. through their financial contributions and economic activity. While investor visas are common worldwide, the Gold Card program’s donation-based structure would differ from traditional investment programs that require job creation or specific business activities.

Gold Card vs. EB-5: Key Challenges and Distinctions

Although President Trump has added additional and new details for the Gold Card visa program through Executive Order, critical uncertainties remain about how it will function compared to the well-established EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

Legal and Structural Uncertainty

The EB-5 program was created by Congress in 1990, reformed in 2022, and reauthorized through 2027. It carries decades of oversight and a predictable adjudication framework. By contrast, the Gold Card would be based solely on executive authority, raising constitutional questions about whether such a program can bypass Congress’s traditional role in shaping immigration law, and it will likely be subject to litigation.

“Even with an Executive Order in place, all we have are some bullet points and a timeline,” Mr. Picataggio explains. “We know that it may be part of the EB-1 or EB-2 categories. Any set-asides for visa availability under those categories would need congressional action. Otherwise, the same backlogs apply, which are quite lengthy for Indian and Chinese applicants, and even the ‘rest of world’ category is backlogged for EB-2.”

Implementation Risks

The Executive Order directs multiple agencies to design application processes and establish fees, but no clear timeline has been provided for the 70,000 prospective registrants. Investors also face potential tax complications, since “donations” of $1–2 million could trigger gift tax and other obligations that have yet to be clarified.

Fundamental Program Differences

Job Creation Requirements: EB-5 requires investors to create or preserve at least 10 full-time U.S. jobs, directly tying foreign capital to American economic growth. The Gold Card, by contrast, would be donation-based and does not include employment requirements.

Visa Caps: EB-5 has a cap of 10,000 visas per year, with 3,000 reserved for high-unemployment or rural areas. The Gold Card Executive Order has not addressed whether caps or regional incentives will apply.

Regulatory Oversight: EB-5 includes a conditional residency period to ensure job creation requirements are met. It is unclear whether the Gold Card will include comparable safeguards or whether it could function as little more than a “cash-for-green-card” program.

EB-5: The Established, Job-Creating Alternative

While the Gold Card Order is generating headlines, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program remains the proven pathway for investors seeking permanent residency in the United States.

Competitive investment threshold: The EB-5 program requires investments of $800,000 (in targeted employment areas) to $1,050,000 (in non-targeted areas), which is comparable to the Gold Card individual donation amount of $1 million, but with job creation requirements

Job creation focus: Unlike a donation, EB-5 requires investments that create or preserve at least 10 permanent full-time jobs for U.S. workers, contributing directly to American employment

Established legal framework and Congressional protection: Since the EB-5 program was created by Congress, only Congress can abolish it, providing greater program stability compared to programs established through Executive Order

Family benefits: The EB-5 visa carries practical advantages for families, including residency for the investor, spouse, and unmarried children under 21. Spouses receive authorization to work legally in the United States, and children gain full access to the U.S. education system.

Path to citizenship: Investors and their families can pursue naturalization after five years of residency, creating a defined and reliable path toward U.S. citizenship.

Practical advantages: The EB-5 visa allows freedom to travel in and out of the United States, while its structure can provide tax advantages, such as reduced rates, exemptions on foreign assets, estate planning benefits, and various credits. The application process itself is designed to be more efficient, with the option to file multiple forms simultaneously, including the I-526, I-485, I-131, and I-765.

Availability: Unlike many other visa categories, EB-5 visas are currently available, avoiding the backlogs that slow progress in EB-1 and EB-2.

This combination of family security, economic impact, and predictability makes EB-5 the most reliable option for international investors considering a long-term future in the United States.

EB-5 Remains the Stable and Proven Option for Investors

At Colombo & Hurd, our view is clear: while the Trump Gold Card Executive Order has generated headlines, the U.S. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program remains the established and legislatively anchored route to permanent residence through investment in the United States. EB-5 is protected by Congressional statute, has decades of regulatory oversight, and provides investors not only with a pathway to permanent residency but also with the assurance that their contributions directly support American job creation and economic growth.

As Mr. Picataggio notes, “Any potential expansion of options for immigrant investors or other high-skilled immigrants is an exciting proposition.” However, he emphasizes that EB-5 continues to be the stable, proven option with clear adjudication standards and a reliable framework.

“We are hopeful that announcements like these will ultimately work alongside existing opportunities rather than replace them,” Mr. Picataggio explains. “For years, we have helped clients use EB-5 to achieve their American dreams while also benefiting the United States through job creation and economic development.”

We continue to guide investors toward EB-5 because it remains the most dependable and legislatively grounded option for securing permanent residency through investment in the United States. While we closely track new initiatives like the Gold Card and Platinum Card, their long-term viability is still uncertain, and there has yet to be any development of a program for potential donors to use.

For EB-5, however, there are important timeline considerations: grandfathering protections will end in September 2026, and minimum investment thresholds are set to rise in January 2027. For those considering this path, acting within the current framework provides certainty and preserves access to today’s requirements.

USCIS Q1 FY2025 EB-5 Data Insights: I-526E Processing Times & Investor Trends

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Analyzing USCIS EB-5 Data from Q1 FY2025: Progress and Challenges

Last week, USCIS released its quarterly data on EB-5 Immigrant Investor petition adjudications for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (covering October 1 through December 31, 2024). This data release provides critical insights into the program’s current state and offers valuable information for investors, regional centers, and industry stakeholders.

In this analysis, we’ll examine the key findings and their implications, with expert insights from Dallan Bunce, experienced EB-5 immigration attorney at Colombo & Hurd.

Overview of the Q1 FY2025 Data Release

The Q1 FY2025 data release shows that USCIS’s Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) processed 202 I-526E petitions during this quarter, with approximately 7,000 cases remaining pending. This represents a quarterly completion rate of approximately 2.9% of the pending inventory.

The FY2025 Q1 report includes, for the first time, median processing times for post-Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) I-526 and I-526E petitions. As explained in the report’s footnote, “Processing times are defined as the number of months it took for an application, petition, or request to be processed from receipt to completion in a given time period. The number of months presented is the median which is the time it took to complete 50% of all the cases processed in the quarter.”

This methodology means the processing time reflects only completed cases, not the projected wait time for currently pending cases. With only 202 completions representing a small fraction of the overall pending inventory, the statistical significance of these median processing times remains uncertain.

Colombo & Hurd immigration attorney Dallan Bunce offers context on factors that can influence USCIS processing capacity:

“While USCIS is funded largely by application and petition fees, they, like other administrative agencies, also feel the squeeze when a new administration starts to slash budgets. With budgetary constraints come staffing issues, with staffing issues come fewer people to review petitions, and with fewer people to review petitions, wait times increase. It is for this reason that it might be wise to file a petition sooner than later to preserve your spot in line.”

Processing Times: I-526E Petitions vs. Legacy Petitions

Before the RIA, all EB-5 petitions were filed using Form I-526—these are now called “Legacy Form I-526” petitions. After the RIA, USCIS created two distinct forms: Form I-526E for investments affiliated with Regional Centers and Form I-526 for standalone investors (typically Direct projects).

The Q1 data shows a notable disparity between processing times for the new I-526E petitions and legacy I-526 petitions. As Mr. Bunce says:

“In essence, it’s showing us that petitions filed by investors after the RIA are having their petitions evaluated before legacy investors. A ‘legacy’ investor is an investor that filed their petition before the RIA. This is in-line with USCIS’ revised approach to adjudicating I-526 Petitions. Now, USCIS prioritizes adjudicating petitions for whom visas might be immediately (or soon) available, instead of adjudicating them on a first-in, first out basis.”

The Q1 data provides several key insights into the current EB-5 landscape. During this quarter, USCIS received 63 standalone petitions and 1,359 Regional Center petitions. This may suggest that Regional Center investments are perceived in the marketplace as more attractive investments than standalone investments.

Interestingly, the median processing time for standalone investments is actually 2 months shorter than for Regional Center investments (10.1 months vs. 12 months), a somewhat perplexing statistic that might be influenced by outliers or other factors not evident in the data. However, the most striking figure remains the 70.9-month median processing time for investors who filed before the RIA.

With only 202 I-526E adjudications completed out of nearly 7,000 pending cases, the sustainability of these processing times remains uncertain. The report doesn’t clarify USCIS’s selection criteria for which petitions are processed first, resource allocation between different petition types, how staffing levels affect overall productivity, or how complexity varied across the adjudicated cases.

EB-5 Visa Demand Exceeds Availability

It’s important to note several limitations when interpreting this quarterly processing data:

Small Sample Size: With only 202 adjudicated I-526E petitions, statistical conclusions about processing times and approval rates should be made only with caution.

Uneven Distribution: The adjudications may not be evenly distributed across project types, investor nationalities, or investment amounts, potentially skewing the averages.

Timing Factors: External factors such as staffing changes at USCIS, policy adjustments, or temporary processing initiatives may have influenced this quarter’s numbers.

The data also doesn’t reveal certain important details, such as the breakdown of cases by regional center versus direct investment, or the distribution of petitions across different countries of origin, which would provide more context for understanding the program’s current dynamics.

However, recent data from American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA)’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for information from USCIS provides additional context for understanding the EB-5 visa situation.

According to these FOIA results, by the end of January 2025, 5,191 investors had filed petitions in the high unemployment area (HUA) set-aside category, and 4,329 investors had filed in the rural category.

This demand substantially exceeds the statutory annual visa availability of 1,000 HUA visas and 2,000 rural visas. With petition filings continuing to increase while processing remains slow, the gap between available visas and qualified applicants continues to widen.

Strategic Considerations for Investors

Considering these findings, EB-5 investors face important strategic decisions.

For prospective investors considering the EB-5 program, the data suggests that new I-526E filers may experience faster processing times compared to pre-RIA investors, despite the growing backlog. The disparity in processing times (12 months vs. 70 months) suggests that post-RIA petitions may be prioritized. However, this advantage should be considered in the context of the overall slowdown in processing volume.

For investors with children approaching age 21, the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) offers a critical opportunity. Under CSPA provisions, the time that an I-526E petition remains pending can effectively “lock in” a child’s age, potentially preserving their eligibility as derivatives even if processing delays extend beyond their 21st birthday. This protection becomes increasingly valuable given the current processing timelines.

Regional centers and project developers face their own strategic considerations. Interestingly, rural projects appear to be attracting higher demand than initially anticipated. This trend suggests that the rural targeted employment area (TEA) incentives created by the RIA are having their intended effect, despite concerns about risk profiles of projects in less-developed areas.

The data also underscores the need for comprehensive, well-prepared petitions that minimize the risk of RFEs or denials. With processing resources already strained, ensuring applications are strong from the outset becomes even more critical.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

The Q1 FY2025 data provides a statistical snapshot of the EB-5 program’s current state. The numbers show a processing volume of 202 I-526E petitions, with approximately 7,000 cases remaining pending, and a strong disparity between the median processing times for new versus legacy petitions.

The American Immigrant Investor Alliance FOIA data adds important context regarding the demand for set-aside visas, but still leaves open questions about how this demand will be managed against limited visa availability.

While the 12-month median processing time for I-526E petitions in Q1 FY2025 is promising, the reality of processing capacity suggests a more complex and potentially challenging future for the program.

As with any complex immigration program, the numbers alone tell only part of the story. We strongly encourage potential and current EB-5 investors to speak with an immigration attorney if you have any concerns or face complex situations related to your petition. Our team at Colombo & Hurd is happy to help you stay informed and up-to-date with the latest immigration policies and procedures to avoid surprises and navigate the evolving EB-5 landscape effectively.