What Is Trump’s ‘Gold Card’ Route to Citizenship and How Might It Work?

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that he would be selling a “gold card,” allowing foreign-born potential immigrants a pathway to citizenship for $5 million.

“You have a green card. This is a gold card,” the President told reporters in the Oval Office. “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.”

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The President said that cards would begin to be sold in “about two weeks.” 

The Trump Administration has been looking for ways to cut the U.S. deficit through new agencies like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and the “gold card” could be just one such way the President is hoping to increase revenue.
An Oct. 28, 2024, analysis of the Trump Administration’s fiscal plan found that it would likely increase the deficit by $7.75 trillion over the next decade. Last year, the federal deficit reached $1.83 trillion, according to fiscal data by the U.S. Treasury Department.

While there are arguably more questions about the potential gold cards than answers at present, here’s what we know so far. 

What is Trump’s “gold card” route to citizenship?

Trump’s “gold card” would essentially allow wealthy foreigners to pay their way to American citizenship. The full details of the program are set to be revealed in two weeks, according to Trump.

The “gold card” would replace the existing EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which allows foreign investors to apply for lawful permanent residence if they invest in commercial enterprises and plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for U.S. workers, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  

How might Trump’s “gold card” work?

It is not clear how Trump’s “gold card” would work. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the Oval Office that potential applicants for the “gold card” visa would have to go through a vetting process to ensure they are “wonderful world-class global citizens,” but details related to the rollout of the program were not shared.

When asked by the press whether Russian oligarchs could apply to the program, Trump said: “Possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs who are very nice people.”

The legality of the “gold card” visa is also in question. The EB-5 program, which the Administration said they will be replacing, was created by Congress in 1990. That program allows potential immigrants who invest $1,050,000, or $800,000 in targeted employment areas—meaning rural areas or areas experiencing high unemployment—to apply for a green card, though there are a number of other qualifications applicants have to meet and it can be a rather lengthy process.

The EB-5 visa has an annual cap of about 10,000 visas a year, or some 7.1% of the 140,000 employment-based visas available every fiscal year, per the State Department. 

Lutnick has been a vocal critic of the program. On Tuesday, he called it “full of nonsense, make-believe, and fraud,” and referred to it as a “way to get a green card that was low-price.”

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