Trump Gold Card Visa: Trump Proposes Selling U.S. Residency for US$5 Million
The United States plans to launch a new visa program, called the “gold card,” priced at US$5 million, opening a new pathway to legal immigration.
“We are going to be selling a gold card. We have a green card; now we are going to have a gold card. We will be pricing that card at about US$5 million, and it is going to give you green card privileges,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on February 25, 2025, as he signed executive orders alongside Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
President Trump said the program would launch within two weeks and asserted that his administration did not need congressional approval. Neither the scale of the plan nor how it would work was made clear.
Lutnick said the program could replace the existing EB-5 visa, which allows foreign nationals to obtain a green card by placing a minimum amount of at-risk capital in a U.S. business.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on February 25, 2025, holding a cap reading “Trump was right about everything.” Photo: AFP
Asked whether applicants would have to invest a specific amount to qualify for the gold card, Lutnick confirmed that they would, and added that the money could be paid directly to the U.S. government.
“The president said that rather than continuing the nonsensical EB-5 program, we are going to end it and replace it with the Trump gold card. They will be able to pay US$5 million to the U.S. government. Of course, they will still be fully vetted to make sure they are world-class global citizens,” Lutnick said, adding that revenue from the gold card program would be used to reduce the budget deficit.
President Trump said he wanted to preserve lawful immigration pathways to the United States, even as he pursued a large-scale deportation campaign against undocumented immigrants.
Via AFP and Business Times — VnExpress
If a US$5 million “gold card” program were to proceed, it could affect the EB-5 category as it stood at the time of the announcement, in particular the US$800,000 investment level then in effect for a project in a targeted employment area (TEA) or a qualifying infrastructure project. That would be directly relevant to investors weighing a U.S. green card through EB-5. The proposal may open an additional residency-by-investment route, but its feasibility and implementation timeline still need to be assessed carefully, and if it were approved, completing the necessary procedures could take several months. Investors already in the EB-5 process, or close to filing, should review their position with independent immigration counsel rather than act on an announcement alone.
