Howard Lutnick, Commerce Secretary, on the Trump Gold Card: “We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top”
The Trump administration has launched a new, fast-tracked ‘golden visa’ for wealthy foreign nationals seeking U.S. residency.
As Donald Trump presides over a major immigration crackdown in the U.S., his administration has launched a new scheme that will allow wealthy individuals to secure American residency “in record time” - in exchange for a seven-figure fee.
How much does the Trump Gold Card cost?
The Trump Gold Card will be available to would-be U.S. residents who make “a contribution of $1 million”, says the program’s website, which went live on Wednesday. Applicants will also have to pay a $15,000 “processing fee” to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and pass an “in-depth background check”.
There is also a Trump Corporate Gold Card for companies, who must pay a $2 million fee per employee, plus the $15,000 processing fee. The Corporate Gold Card will, in addition, require businesses to pay a “1% annual maintenance fee”.
In a post on his social-media platform, Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday: “THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT’S TRUMP GOLD CARD IS HERE TODAY! A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent.”
The launch of the Gold Card comes two months after Trump issued an executive order announcing the scheme. The Gold Card “will facilitate the entry of aliens who have demonstrated their ability and desire to advance the interests of the United States by voluntarily providing a significant financial gift to the Nation,” the president said.
The Gold Card’s website is also teasing a future Trump Platinum Card, which requires a $5 million contribution (plus the $15,000 processing fee).
“Foreign nationals can sign up now and secure their places on the waiting list for the Trump Platinum Card,” the website says. “When launched […], they will have the ability to spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income."
At the same time as Trump launches a fast-tracked visa for the wealthy, the U.S. president is stepping up curbs on immigration avenues typically taken by those without the means to fork out million-dollar fees.
In the wake of November’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington - allegedly by an Afghan national - the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a “full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern”.
The USCIS director, Joseph Edlow, additionally revealed that the agency would pause all asylum decisions “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible”.
“Taking in the bottom quartile”
Howard Lutnick, Trump’s commerce secretary, has described the Gold Card - whose legality is being called into question - as a “major win for our country”. He has claimed it will provide a 12-figure boost to the U.S. government’s finances.
Lutnick has also been heavily critical of the Green Card - a non-fast-tracked, regular residency scheme that allows individuals to gain the right to live and work in the U.S. The Green Card does not require the huge fee demanded by the Gold Card program.
In a speech in September, Lutnick claimed that the Green Card program has led to the U.S. “taking in the bottom quartile, below the average American”.
“So what we are doing now is, we are going to stop doing that,” he said. “We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top. Instead of people trying to take the jobs from Americans, they’re going to create businesses and create jobs for Americans.
“And this program will raise more than $100 billion for the Treasury of the United States of America.”
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