Gold Card Visa for Chinese Investors: 2026 Comparison

Introduction Chinese nationals have historically been the largest user group of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. For over a decade, investors from mainland China drove the majority of EB-5 petition filings, creating a significant visa backlog in the unreserved EB-5 category that persists today. The proposed Trump Gold Card, announced by the Trump administration in 2025, has drawn interest among Chinese investors and their advisors because, if enacted, it might operate with different timeline characteristics than the backlogged EB-5 unreserved category. It remains a proposal that has not been enacted into law, and creating a new immigrant-residency category would require an act of Congress. This article provides a China specific analysis of the Gold Card, covering the backlog context, cost comparison, source of funds considerations, and the practical realities of cross border capital transfer from China. For China specific EB-5 data, see our China country page. For current visa...#