Trump proposes $5m 'gold card' to replace EB-5 investor visa

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he plans to introduce a "gold card" that offers a path to citizenship for 5 million US dollars to replace the existing EB-5 investor visa.

"It's going to give you green card privileges plus its going to be a route to citizenship, and wealthy people would be coming into our country by buying this card," Trump said in the Oval Office, adding that details about the scheme will come out in two weeks.

Congress created the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program in 1990 to stimulate the US economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services's website.

Under this program, investors (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence (become a Green Card holder) if they: make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States; and plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified US workers, it said.