President Donald Trump has revealed the introduction of a $5 million "Trump Gold Card", a new visa scheme offering rich foreign nationals permanent residence in the United States and a path to citizenship. The scheme, introduced on February 25, 2025, will replace the current EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program, which had a minimum investment requirement of $1 million and the creation of jobs in the U.S.
The Gold Card grants "green card privileges-plus" so that the owners can live, work, and eventually become citizens without having to seek employment or start enterprises. Trump had called it "a sophisticated alternative" that would lure successful people who significantly add to the American economy in terms of investment and taxes.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick attacked the EB-5 program as "full of fraud" and said the Gold Card would do away with such inefficiencies.
While the scheme is likely to earn significant revenue and increase foreign investment, the scheme has been criticized for prioritizing wealth over skills or family connections, traditional reasons for migration. The Trump administration intends to roll out the Gold Card in weeks and thus become one of the world's most costly investor visa schemes.
The initiative is part of Trump's overall strategy of using economic incentives to overhaul U.S. immigration policy.
