Trump’s $5M ‘Gold Card’ Offers Wealthy Investors Fast-Track to U.S. Citizenship

Would you be willing to spend $5 million for U.S. residency and citizenship? If you happen to have that kind of money, President Donald Trump’s new “gold cards” could provide a fast track to securing both.

CNN Politics reported that Trump’s “gold cards” will offer their holders green card privileges and a pathway to citizenship. “We’re going to be selling a gold card,” Trump stated in the Oval Office, adding, “You have a green card. This is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million, and that’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained the gold card would replace the EB-5 investor visa program. The EB-5 program was introduced in 1992 and allows foreign investors to obtain a U.S. green card by investing in U.S. businesses.

CNN stated that despite its intentions to create jobs, it has been criticised for benefiting the wealthy, including Trump’s own businesses.

Trump suggested the cards could also be sold to Russian oligarchs, stating, “Yeah, possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.”

The program’s reform, which Trump aims to implement within two weeks, has already sparked debate over its potential to prioritise money over merit and fairness in immigration, CNN reported.