The Gold Card uses an expedited EB-1 or EB-2 immigrant process rather than a freestanding classification like TN, L-1 or E-2. The applicant must be eligible for lawful permanent resident status, admissible and have a visa available; the prescribed gift serves as evidence under specified EB-1 and EB-2 grounds.
A framework, described on its own terms
Hypothetical example: The distinction matters because households instinctively compare it against the categories they already understand, and those comparisons import assumptions that do not apply. The nonimmigrant classifications turn on employment, corporate relationships or invested capital, each with statutory requirements and case-by-case adjudication. The Gold Card framework is described by the government in different terms, and the description has been revised since it was first announced.
A Selwyn household should therefore begin by reading the current official page rather than by asking how it compares to EB-5. Once the actual terms are in front of them, comparison becomes possible and useful. Started the other way round, the comparison tends to produce confident conclusions about a programme whose published details nobody has checked recently.