President Donald Trump has announced that a new pathway to U.S. citizenship will soon be available for purchase for $5 million.
Trump said a “gold card” will go up for sale in about two weeks to entice “wealthy people” to enter the U.S.
For $5 million, people will be able to apply to become lawful permanent residents
He said this would bring in “very high-level people,” and the proceeds from the program could help pay down the deficit.
“It’s going to be a route to citizenship, and wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card. They’ll be wealthy, and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes,” Trump told reporters at an unrelated event in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Trump’s Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, dubbed it the “Trump Gold Card” and claimed it would effectively replace the present EB-5 immigrant investment visa.
The program grants foreigners residency if they spend at least $1.05 million in a new firm that produces jobs, or $800,000 if the enterprise is in a rural area, a high-unemployment area, or an infrastructure project.
Trump proceeded to claim that the idea has “never been done before,” though many countries—including Spain, Portugal, and Greece—offer similar programs more commonly known as “golden visas.”
Lutnick said applicants will undergo vetting to ensure “they’re wonderful world-class global citizens.”
The gold card scheme aimed at attracting rich foreigners was introduced amid a massive push by the Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants.
Over 37,000 people were deported during Trump’s first month back in office, which still fell below the monthly average of 57,000 deportations under the Biden administration.
