in effect
Executive Order 14351, signed September 19, 2025, establishes a new immigration program called the “Gold Card,” administered by the Department of Commerce. It directs the Secretaries of Commerce, State, and Homeland Security to create an expedited immigrant visa pathway for foreign nationals who make large financial gifts to the federal government.
An individual foreign national who donates $1 million to the Department of Commerce becomes eligible for an expedited immigrant visa application; a corporation donating $2 million can sponsor an individual for the same pathway. Those gifts are to be treated by visa adjudicators as evidence of priority immigrant status, exceptional business ability, national benefit, and eligibility for a national-interest waiver under existing immigration law. The donated funds go into a separate Treasury fund and are used by Commerce to promote American industry. The three designated cabinet secretaries have 90 days from the order’s signing to build the application process, set an opening date for submissions, establish administrative and transfer fees, and create a mechanism allowing corporations to reassign a Gold Card sponsorship to a different individual. The order also directs agencies to consider expanding the program to the existing EB-5 investor visa category.
Foreign nationals with significant personal wealth, and corporations or similar entities willing to make the required gift on an individual’s behalf, gain a new route to apply for an immigrant visa outside the standard process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the State Department, and the Department of Commerce are directed to build and operate the new program within 90 days. Existing visa applicants and the general public are not directly changed by this order, which explicitly states it creates no enforceable legal rights for any party.