Updated February 26, 2025 at 15:02 PM ET
President Trump said he is planning to introduce a new visa to attract rich foreigners to America — something he is calling a "gold card."
For $5 million, people will be able to apply to become lawful permanent residents. Trump said the program would be rolled out in two weeks, would bring in "very high-level people," and said the proceeds from the program could help pay down the deficit.
Trump first raised the idea with reporters at an unrelated event in the Oval Office on Tuesday, and expanded on it during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
"It's going to be a route to citizenship, and wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card. They'll be wealthy, and they'll be successful, and they'll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes," Trump said.
Trump says it's a way to keep top students in the country
Trump suggested that U.S. companies would buy his proposed gold cards to keep job candidates who attend U.S. schools from leaving the country.
"I get calls from, as an example, companies where they want to hire the No. 1 student at the school — person comes from India, China, Japan, lots of different places, and they go to Harvard to Wharton School of Finance, they go to Yale," Trump said at his Cabinet meeting.
"They graduate No. 1 in their class and they're made job offers. But the offer is immediately rescinded because you have no idea whether or not that person can stay in the country."
The new program could replace the EB-5 investor visa
Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called it the "Trump Gold Card" and said it would effectively replace the current EB-5 immigrant investor visa. That program gives residency to foreigners who invest at least $1.05 million in a new business that creates jobs — or $800,000 if the business is in a rural area, high unemployment area or an infrastructure project.
Lutnick told reporters the EB-5 program was "full of nonsense, make-believe and fraud." He emphasized that applicants for the "gold card" would be vetted.
Asked by a reporter whether Russian oligarchs could apply for "gold cards," Trump said — seemingly tongue-in-cheek — "Yeah, possibly. Hey, I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people."
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