More Indians lining up for US investment visas

"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.

- DIVYAA

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.

"In the first four months of FY2025 (October 2024-January 2025), Indian applicants filed more than 1,200 I-526E petitions across reserved categories—more than any prior full year," Nicholas Mastroianni III, president and CMO of USIF, said, referring to the application forms.