Trump to offer ‘gold card’ visas for US$5 million to the rich
PRESIDENT Donald Trump said he is starting a programme to offer residency and a path to citizenship to investors who pay US$5 million, offering a new avenue for legal immigration even as he carries out a sweeping crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Trump said the programme, dubbed the “gold card”, would launch in two weeks, adding that he did not believe his administration needed to secure approval from Congress. The full scope of the plan and how it would be implemented was not immediately clear.
“We are going to be selling a gold card,” Trump said on Tuesday (Feb 25) in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“We are going to be putting a price on that card of about US$5 million, and that’s going to give you green card privileges,” he added, referencing the permits currently issued to US permanent residents.
Lutnick said the move could replace the existing EB-5 programme, which allows immigrant investors to acquire green cards by investing a certain amount towards a business in the US.
Asked by a reporter if participants would need to invest a certain amount of money to qualify for a gold card, Lutnick responded: “Yeah, exactly”, but suggested that funds for the visa might be paid directly to the government.
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“The president said rather than having this sort of ridiculous EB-5 programme, we are going to end the EB-5 programme. We are going to replace it with the Trump gold card,” he said. “They will be able to pay US$5 million to the US government not to go through vetting, of course, going to make sure they are wonderful world class, global citizens.”
“They can come to America. The president can give them a green card, and they can invest in America, and we can use that money to reduce our deficit,” he added.
Trump has said he wants to keep pathways open for legal immigration to the US even as he carries out what he touted on the campaign trail as the largest deportation of undocumented migrants in the country’s history.
Trump has moved to ramp up deportations and secure the US southern border during his second term, including threatening Canada and Mexico with tariffs if they do not do more to stem the flow of fentanyl, other illegal drugs and people into the US. BLOOMBERG
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