Is There Recession in the US? Donald Trump Opens Up American Citizenship For Immigrants at $5 Million, Check Scheme

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday his plan to introduce a new "gold card" visa—priced at $5 million—that offers a direct path to American citizenship for wealthy investors. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump explained that the new visa would replace the decades-old EB-5 investor visa program, which was established in 1990 to spur foreign investment by requiring a minimum investment of around $1 million in a business that creates at least 10 jobs.

Trump Unveils “Gold Card” Visa Plan to Replace EB-5, Paving a Wealthy Path to Citizenship Without Congressional Approval

"They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it’s going to be extremely successful," Trump stated. The new proposal, often referred to as the "Trump Gold Card," is aimed at attracting high-net-worth individuals who can contribute significantly to the U.S. economy through their investments.

Is There Recession in the US? Donald Trump Opens Up American Citizenship For Immigrants at $5 Million, Check Scheme

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the “Trump Gold Card” would replace the EB-5 visas within the next two weeks. According to Lutnick, this new scheme is designed to raise the entry price for investors while eliminating the fraud and regulatory inefficiencies that have plagued the EB-5 program. Unlike the current investor visa, the gold card would offer permanent legal residency—commonly known as a green card—with a clear pathway to citizenship, though Trump noted that it would not require congressional approval.

The EB-5 visa program, which has issued about 8,000 visas in the 12-month period ending September 2022, has long faced criticism for its susceptibility to fraud, as noted in a 2021 Congressional Research Service report. Investor visas, often dubbed "golden visas," are popular in over 100 countries worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, and Australia.

Trump mused that, in theory, the federal government could even sell up to 10 million gold cards to help reduce the national deficit. “It’s somewhat like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication,” he explained, suggesting that companies might even sponsor these visas to secure long-term status for talented individuals. This bold initiative aims to redefine the pathway to American citizenship for investors by streamlining the process and ensuring that those who contribute significantly to the economy are welcomed into the country.