President Donald Trump continues to signal a shift in U.S. immigration policy. He has now announced the launch of a new card, a “gold card,” which will grant foreigners the right to live, work, and eventually obtain U.S. citizenship after paying 5 million dollars.
“We are going to sell a gold card,” the president declared to the press gathered in the Oval Office of the White House. “You have a green card. This is a gold card. We are going to put a price on that card, around 5 million dollars, and that will give you green card privileges, in addition to being a pathway to citizenship,” he explained.
The initiative—expected to take effect within the next two weeks—marks a shift in the country’s immigration policy, focusing on attracting high-net-worth foreigners. The measure would replace the EB-5 program, the investor visa created in 1992, which allowed foreign investors to obtain a green card in exchange for bringing capital into job-creating projects in the United States. Staying true to his style, Trump described that program as a system full of “nonsense, loopholes, and fraud.”
The new initiative will also provide resources to reduce the U.S. fiscal deficit, which is at record levels. “Wealthy individuals will come to our country by purchasing this card. They will be successful, spend a lot of money, pay a lot of taxes, and employ many people,” the president assured. During the announcement, he was accompanied by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
The president emphasized that gold card holders will be “major taxpayers, major job creators.” He then clarified that those who obtain the card will not be required to pay taxes on income earned outside the United States, as long as they are not citizens. “If they create jobs here, they will pay taxes like everyone else,” he explained. “We may be able to sell a million of these cards, maybe even more than that,” said Trump. “If you add up the numbers, they look pretty good,” he said enthusiastically. “If we sell a million, that’s 5 trillion dollars,” he concluded.
