Contacted by 3 different Gold Card visa "consultants" — are these all scams?

I'm a real estate developer based in Dubai with about $40M in assets. The Trump Gold Card visa — $5M investment for permanent US residency — is attractive because it's simpler than the EB-5 process. But since the program launched in mid-January, I've been contacted by three different firms and I want to know if any of them are legitimate.

Firm A (London): Charging $200K "facilitation fee" and guaranteeing Gold Card approval within 90 days. They claim to have a "direct relationship with the White House."

Firm B (Miami): Offering a "Gold Card investment fund" where my $5M goes into a pooled real estate vehicle. They say the fund is "pre-approved by USCIS."

Firm C (Dubai): Says they can get me a Gold Card for $3M instead of $5M through a "special early applicant program."

This feels exactly like the EB-5 regional center fraud wave from 2015-2020. Before I invest $5M I need to understand:

• Are any of these firms legitimate? How do I verify?
• What does the official USCIS application process actually look like?
• What are the qualifying investment types?
• Has anyone actually applied through the official channel yet?

Immigration attorney specializing in investor visa fraud. All three of those firms are showing textbook fraud indicators. Let me go through each one:

Firm A: Nobody has a "direct relationship with the White House" for immigration processing. USCIS adjudicates applications independently. Guaranteeing approval is illegal under 8 U.S.C. § 1324c — it's a federal crime to make false representations regarding immigration benefits. A $200K facilitation fee for filing paperwork is predatory.

Firm B: There is NO "pre-approved" Gold Card investment fund. USCIS does not pre-approve investment vehicles for this program. If they're soliciting pooled investments without SEC registration, they may also be violating federal securities laws.

Firm C: The $5M threshold is set by executive order. There is no "special early applicant" discount. This is a straightforward scam.

The actual official process (as of late January 2026):

1. Applications are filed directly with USCIS through their online portal at uscis.gov
2. The investment must be $5M in qualifying US assets: real estate (title in your name or your US entity), Treasury securities, or equity in a US operating business that creates or preserves at least 10 jobs
3. Applicants must pass background and national security vetting
4. Current processing estimate is 6–12 months — there is no expedited track
5. You do NOT need a facilitator or consultant. A licensed US immigration attorney is sufficient

Report all three firms: USCIS fraud tip line (1-800-375-5283), FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov), and if Firm B is soliciting investments, the SEC (sec.gov/tcr).

I lost $1.2M in the Jay Peak EB-5 regional center fraud in Vermont. The SEC shut it down in 2016 after the developer misappropriated over $200M from EB-5 investors across multiple projects. My green card application was denied because the investment entity was fraudulent, and I never recovered most of my money.

The Gold Card scam playbook is identical to what I experienced:

• Foreign investors who can't easily verify US claims
• Large investment amounts that attract sophisticated-looking but fraudulent intermediaries
• Promises of "guaranteed" or "expedited" immigration benefits
• Pooled investment funds where your money gets commingled (and often stolen)
• Urgency pressure — "limited spots" or "early applicant" discounts

My advice: do not invest a single dollar through any intermediary. Work only with a US-licensed immigration attorney (verify on your state bar website) and a US-licensed investment advisor (verify SEC registration at adviserinfo.sec.gov). Make your $5M investment directly into assets you can independently verify and control — real property, Treasury securities, or a business you own.

If I had bought a $1.2M apartment instead of putting money into a pooled EB-5 fund, I'd at least still own the apartment. Learn from my mistake.

Adding the securities law perspective. If anyone offers you a "Gold Card investment fund" — where you put money into a pooled vehicle and they invest on your behalf — that is almost certainly an investment contract under SEC v. Howey. That means:

• The fund must be registered with the SEC or qualify for an exemption (typically Reg D 506(b) or 506(c))
• The fund manager must be a registered investment adviser or qualify for an exemption
• They must provide disclosure documents (private placement memorandum)
• They cannot guarantee returns or immigration approval

You can verify any fund or adviser at SEC.gov/EDGAR and adviserinfo.sec.gov. If they're not registered, they're operating illegally.

The safest approach for Gold Card applicants: buy qualifying assets directly. US commercial real estate in your name, Treasury bonds in your brokerage account, or equity in a US business you control. This avoids the pooled fund risk entirely and gives you full control of your $5M investment regardless of the immigration outcome.

If USCIS denies your Gold Card application, you keep your real estate. If you put $5M into someone's "Gold Card fund" and get denied, good luck getting it back.

Wealth manager in Singapore. Three of my UHNW clients are pursuing Gold Cards and here's how we've structured it — zero intermediaries, zero pooled funds:

• Client 1: Purchasing a $5.3M mixed-use building in Austin directly. Title in his name through a US LLC. Immigration attorney files the Gold Card application with the real estate purchase as the qualifying investment.
• Client 2: $5M in US Treasury securities held in a Schwab brokerage account. Simplest structure — liquid, verifiable, no management required.
• Client 3: $5M equity investment into a US operating company she's launching (food manufacturing). Has to create 10+ jobs, which she's doing anyway.

The common thread: each client directly owns and controls their $5M qualifying investment. No consultants, no funds, no middlemen. The total professional fees are about $30K–$50K (immigration attorney + real estate/securities attorney + CPA), not $200K to a "facilitator."

One important caveat: the Gold Card program faces legal challenges. Multiple lawsuits argue the President lacks authority to create a new visa category by executive order. If the program is struck down, you keep your investment (it's your property) but lose the immigration pathway. Invest in assets with independent value you'd want to own anyway.

Related: Gold Card Visa Tracker on Terms.Law