More Indians lining up for US investment visas

Curbs on H-1B, Student Visas Rise

- Divya A

"THE TRUMP CARD is Coming. Enter your information below to be notified the moment access opens," says the new US government website on the Gold Card, the $5 million US residency visa programme announced by President Donald Trump in February.

Despite curiosity around the new programme, the launch date and specific details of which are yet to be released, data shows that the existing investment-based residency programme EB-5, which the Gold Card will replace, has seen more applications from India over the past one year than ever before.

According to the American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA), a Washington-based collective of EB-5 investors, demand for EB-5 from Indian citizens has grown sharply since April 2024, driven by factors such as stricter controls over student and temporary work visas under the Trump regime. Data provided by United States Immigration Fund (USIF), which runs designated EB-5 regional centres in the US, confirms this.