Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to introduce a "gold card" program, allowing wealthy immigrants to obtain green card residency status and a path to U.S. citizenship for $5 million. Trump predicted that one million cards could be sold under the scheme.
According to Trump, this initiative could help reduce the national debt. He stated that the "gold card" would replace the existing EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which grants green cards to foreign investors who contribute significant capital to create or preserve U.S. jobs.
"We are going to be selling a gold card... We are putting a price on that card of about $5 million," Trump said.
"It will provide green card privileges and a route to American citizenship. Wealthy individuals will be able to enter the country by purchasing this card," he added.
Trump promised that more details about the program would be revealed in two weeks. When asked whether Russian oligarchs would be eligible, he acknowledged the possibility.
"Yeah, possibly. Hey, I know some Russian oligarchs who are very nice people," he remarked.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, currently administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was established by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized the existing EB-5 program, calling it "full of nonsense, make-believe, and fraud."
"It was a low-price way to get a green card. So the president decided that instead of this ridiculous EB-5 program, we will replace it with the Trump gold card," Lutnick told reporters on Tuesday.
