President Donald Trump officially unveiled the “Trump Gold Card” program on December 10, 2025, offering affluent foreign nationals an expedited pathway to U.S. permanent residency and eventual citizenship in exchange for a $1 million “gift” to the government.
Kabul 24: Announced via Truth Social and detailed on the new official website trumpcard.gov, the initiative targets “high-level professionals” who can demonstrate substantial benefits to the American economy, such as job creation and investment.
To apply, individuals must first pay a non-refundable $15,000 processing fee to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for background vetting, including rigorous national security and criminal checks.
Upon approval, applicants contribute $1 million, described as evidence of their “substantial benefit” to the U.S. This replaces traditional EB-5 investor visas, streamlining the process to “record time” under EB-1 or EB-2 categories for those with extraordinary abilities. Corporations sponsoring employees face a $2 million contribution per worker, plus a 1% annual maintenance fee ($20,000) and a 5% transfer fee ($100,000) for switching beneficiaries—allowing firms to retain top global talent without repeated payments.
Trump, flanked by business leaders in the White House Roosevelt Room, hailed the program as “SO EXCITING!” on Truth Social, emphasizing it enables “Great American Companies” to keep “invaluable Talent” while generating “many billions of dollars” for national priorities like debt reduction and industry support.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the $1 million a “gift to help America be great again,” projecting trillions in revenue if millions apply—though experts deem this optimistic, estimating demand from only thousands among the world’s 277,000 ultra-wealthy foreigners worth $30 million or more.
A premium “Trump Platinum Card” is slated for launch soon, costing $5 million and granting holders up to 270 days annually in the U.S. without taxation on non-U.S. income—exempting foreign earnings from IRS scrutiny, a perk unavailable to U.S. citizens or standard green card holders.
Applicants can join a waitlist now for $15,000, but the price may rise. This builds on Trump’s September 19 Executive Order 14351, which directed the Commerce, State, and DHS departments to create the program amid broader immigration reforms.
The rollout coincides with intensified border controls: mass deportations of undocumented migrants, a $100,000 H-1B visa fee for skilled workers, and pauses on asylum applications from 19 mostly African and Middle Eastern countries under the revived travel ban.
Trump frames it as prioritizing “productive” immigrants who “create jobs” over those “walking over the borders.”
Critics, including Democrats and immigration experts, decry the scheme as “pay-to-play” favoritism for the rich, exacerbating inequality in a system already biased against low-income and non-white applicants.
It echoes global “golden visa” programs in Europe and New Zealand but stands out for its direct “gift” model, raising legal questions about executive authority without congressional approval—particularly for tax exemptions.
While Trump envisions selling millions of cards to erase the $35 trillion national debt, skeptics warn it could deter broader talent attraction and face court challenges.
The Gold Card’s website features Trump’s portrait against an American flag, underscoring its branding as a symbol of elite access. As applications open, it signals a monetized lane in U.S. immigration, contrasting sharply with crackdowns on other pathways.
