Last night, the Trump Administration unveiled a framework for three new immigration pathways: the Trump Gold Card, the Trump Corporate Gold Card, and the forthcoming Trump Platinum Card.
While details about these pathways remain scarce, they represent a shift away from the familiar job-creation EB-5 immigrant investor model and involve different costs and implications for companies that employ foreign talent or use foreign capital.
The Trump Gold Card is not a new visa; rather, it is a new pathway to qualify for two existing employment-based green card categories. The Executive Order instructs the Department of Commerce (DOC) to collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create a new standard of evidence for petitioners in the "extraordinary ability" (EB-1A) and "national interest waiver" (self-sponsored EB-2) green card categories. The Executive Order states that an unrestricted gift of one million dollars is to be considered evidence of qualification for a green card in those two categories.
Key features include:
- Applicants must be eligible for LPR status, admissible to the United States, and a visa must be available. Nationals of India and China will face multi-year quota delays in the EB-1A category, and nationals of all countries will face multi-year quota delays in the EB-2 National Interest Waiver category.
- DHS may classify Gold Card holders as EB-1 or EB-2 visa holders.
- Applicants pay a nonrefundable processing fee and submit the required documents.
- Upon approval, an individual must make a nonrefundable $1 million donation to the U.S., which is deemed sufficient evidence of their benefit to the U.S.
- For Corporations, the donation amount is increased to $2 million to sponsor an employee. Sponsorship can be transferred between employees, though it is not yet clear whether the transfer of sponsorship to a new employee can be done once the originally sponsored employee has their green card.
- Gold Card holders will be treated like other permanent residents and citizens—subject to U.S. tax on worldwide income and full reporting obligations.
- A Gold Card is subject to revocation, like other immigrant visas.
Details about the "forthcoming" Trump Platinum card remain scarce, but the administration has indicated that potential applicants would pay a processing fee and make a $5 million donation, allowing them to spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.
The executive order released last evening further indicated that all "necessary steps" to implement these programs should be undertaken within 90 days. The executive order also directed consideration of EB-5 visas for Trump Gold Card eligibility, but further details are not available.
Based on the Executive Order, it is not clear which clients might benefit from the new EB-1A/NIW pathway through donations, as compared to other available immigration pathways. It is also not yet possible to submit applications for the Gold Card or Corporate Gold Card without implementing procedures from DHS and DOC.
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