Jill Jones Addresses Misconceptions About the Gold Card and EB-5

In a recent podcast appearance, Jones explained what the headlines over the Gold Card proposal have left out and how the EB-5 industry should be a champion of the Gold Card Program as a compliment to the current EB-5 Program.

In the wake of the initial announcement of a potential “Gold Card” visa that would allow participants to receive permanent U.S. residency and a path to citizenship in exchange for a $5 million contribution, members of JTC’s EB-5 team have been highly sought-after to provide analysis about such a program’s possible effects on EB-5.

JTC Head of Specialty Fund Administration and General Counsel USA, Jill Jones, appeared on the Global Investment Voice podcast series from Mona Shah & Partners Global Practice. On episode 213, “Beyond The Headlines – The Real Impact Of The $5M Gold Card Visa On EB-5,” Jones joined hosts Mona Shah and Rebecca Singh to discuss what is currently known about the Gold Card, whether it can be as lucrative as the administration has suggested, and most importantly, what this means for EB-5.

Part of the confusion surrounding the Gold Card has come from conflicting messages. Whereas Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick originally stated that the Gold Card Program would replace the EB-5 Program, which he called “full of nonsense, make believe and fraud”, in later discussions, President Trump has appeared to suggest that the Gold Card would be separate from EB-5.

“Initially there was a lot of hysteria in the EB-5 community,” said Jones. “But when people slow down to think about what this Gold Card visa really means… it really is something that can live, and probably should live, alongside of EB-5. There’s a very different motivation, and a different demographic that would be attracted to each program.”

The different demographic comes from the Gold Card’s reported $5 million price tag. Unlike EB-5, which involves putting an investment at risk and hopefully seeing that investment (usually $800,000 or $1,050,000) returned, a Gold Card appears to be a donation or purchase with no expectation of repayment. If an investor wanted to purchase Gold Cards for a family of four, that could require $20 million in liquid capital.

“The demographic of people that have $5 million liquid and available to purchase a green card… it does exist, but I don’t think that there are as many as perhaps the President is hoping for,” said Jones. “A large chunk of these Ultra High Net Worth individuals are already here in the United States,” and as for the others, “they’re doing quite well where they are.” But, she noted, if there are foreign nationals who want to pay $5 million for a visa, “by all means, let them do it.”

Regarding the question of just how many people might be interested in a Gold Card, Secretary Lutnick claimed to have already sold 1,000 of them in a day. Other outlets have pointed out that we still don’t have any details on how this program would actually work.  How would the applicants be vetted?  What requirements might there be on the timing, source or path of funds?

We would be remiss not to discuss the public perceptions of these programs.  “One of the negative comments people have had for years about EB-5 is that it appears foreign nationals are buying green cards,” said Jones. “It left a very bad taste in the mouths of the American public. So, we fought very hard to get people to understand that the EB-5 Program is not just for the purchase of a visa. The funds invested for EB-5 visa applications are creating jobs, they’re promoting the economy, especially in rural and underserved areas.” It would seem that a program that is not only designed to be a sale of green cards, but which also shelters the applicants from having to pay taxes on their worldwide income, a benefit that no other immigration program can offer, would be met with fierce opposition.

Fixing EB-5’s reputation has been a long time priority for industry leaders like JTC, who’ve had to fight against the negative perceptions of the program among lawmakers.

“Years ago, EB-5 was referred to as the Wild Wild West, and it gained that reputation because there really wasn’t a lot of regulation,” said Jones. “I’ve been part of a team who was really focused on best practices designed to legitimize the EB-5 Program.”

The recent enactment of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), which included a requirement for third-party fund administration is a likely response to these efforts. As Jones explained, “The fund administrator needs to co-sign every time disbursements of EB-5 funds go out.” This second set of independent eyes means that “the opportunity for ‘nonsense’ or for ‘make-believe’ has been shut down.”

Secretary Lutnick’s negative comments about EB-5 don’t reflect the current state of the program, and it’s important to note that many of the highly publicized instances of fraud occurred before the RIA was enacted.  And as many others have reminded us, only Congress can eliminate EB-5, so there’s little chance that a Gold Card could “replace” EB-5 anytime soon. As far as whether this could bring negative attention to EB-5, Jones said she isn’t worried.  EB-5 is getting attention today that we’ve never had before.  Using this platform to share data around all the good the EB-5 program has done for the US is an opportunity to focus on making the program even bigger and better than it is today.

“Attention to the program is good,” she said. “Whatever it takes to bring attention to the program is only going to propel us forward.” Promoting the health of the program, by ensuring the reauthorization of the Regional Center Program and attributing visa numbers to the applicants only, not their derivatives, Jones said, is an opportunity to enhance the impact EB-5 Program can have on the US.

“I think one of the things the EB-5 industry really needs to be doing right now is to be speaking about what EB-5 needs in order to be even better,” she said.

Check out the full episode to see what else Jill and the hosts had to say.