President Donald Trump formally unveiled the long-promised “Gold Card” initiative on Wednesday, allowing affluent individuals to secure permanent US residency and an accelerated path to citizenship for a straightforward $1 million payment, while corporations must pay $2 million for each foreign-born employee they wish to sponsor. Unveiled in the White House Roosevelt Room amid prominent business leaders, the program effectively sidelines the 1990 EB-5 investor visa framework that previously required job creation and targeted economic projects.
Trump hailed the Gold Card as “a green card but much better—much more powerful, a much stronger path,” confirming that the dedicated application website is now live and every dollar collected will be channeled directly to the US Treasury. He forecasted billions in fresh revenue, emphasising that the funds would be used “to do things positive for the country,” marking a dramatic shift toward monetising immigration pathways for high-net-worth individuals.
In a clear departure from existing rules, the new program eliminates mandatory job-creation requirements and annual caps that govern the current EB-5 system. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced an additional $15,000 vetting fee per applicant and pledged exhaustive background screening to guarantee that only “the best people” qualify, while asserting that today’s average green card holder earns less than the typical American—a trend the administration intends to reverse.
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Trump justified the policy by recounting frustration from corporate leaders unable to retain exceptional foreign graduates from top US universities due to visa uncertainty. Naming China, India, and France as key source countries for talent, he framed the Gold Card as a pragmatic solution to keep the world’s brightest minds in America, even as mass deportation operations continue against undocumented migrants.
The announcement has ignited fierce criticism from hard-line MAGA figures who view it as contradicting Trump’s border-security legacy, yet it aligns the United States with dozens of nations—including the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Greece, and Australia—that already operate lucrative “golden visa” programmes for wealthy investors.
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