President Donald Trump is not averse to immigrants — if they are people with money. The U.S., he said, would sell a “gold card” to wealthy foreigners, giving them the right to live and work in the US and offering a path to citizenship in exchange for a $5 million fee.
“We’re going to be selling a gold card,” Trump said from the Oval Office Tuesday. “You have a green card. This is a gold card. 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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Trump said the sale of the cards will begin in about two weeks and suggested millions of such cards could be sold. “Generally speaking, it will be people with money and people that create jobs.”
Asked whether he would consider selling the cards to Russian oligarchs, Trump responded: “Yeah, possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing alongside Trump, said the new gold card would replace the “ridiculous” EB-5 program, which was intended to stimulate the U.S. economy by issuing green cards in exchange for investments that create jobs
“We are going to make sure they are wonderful, world class global citizens,” Lutnick said. “They can come to America, the president can give them a green card. They can invest in America.“
Created by Congress in 1992, the EB-5 program can grant green cards to immigrants who make a minimum investment of least $1,050,000, or $800,000 in economically distressed zones called targeted employment areas, to create jobs for American workers.
Businesses connected to Trump and his family have also made use of the program to fund major property developments, according to CNN. The program drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers in Congress during Trump’s first term, with many warning that it had deviated from its goals and was in need of reform.
The Trump administration in 2019 moved to raise the minimum investment amount for targeted economic areas to $900,000, and $1.8 million in other locations, but a federal judge struck down the change in 2021, finding that the acting Homeland Security secretary who authorized the rule had not been properly appointed.
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The program was last renewed in 2022 during the Biden administration, with the minimum investment requirements being raised to their current levels.
The news comes as the green card backlog for Indian applicants remains unapproachable. The backlog for employment-based green cards in the United States has reached a record 1.8 million applicants, with approximately 1.1 million of these individuals being Indian nationals.
The Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, has highlighted that new Indian applicants face a lifetime wait for green cards. The institute’s analysis indicates that the employment-based green card backlog has reached unprecedented levels, exacerbating the challenges faced by highly skilled Indian professionals seeking permanent residency in the U.S.