Finally, President Donald Trump‘s “gold card” is here! The initiative, which carries a price tag of $1 million for individuals and $2 million for corporations seeking legal residency for foreign-born employees, was launched on Wednesday.
Trump unveiled the program before an audience of executives in the Roosevelt Room as a new application website quietly went live.
The initiative is positioned as the successor to the EB-5 investor visa, a three-decade-old tool designed to bring outside capital into the United States. That earlier system required a comparable financial commitment and proof that at least ten jobs would be created. Trump’s plan strips away several of those guardrails and reorients the program as a direct pathway to permanent residency and, later, citizenship.
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Trump described the gold card as a more ambitious version of the familiar green card, asserting that “all funds taken in as part of the program will go to the U.S. government” and projecting “billions” in new revenue for Treasury. In his telling, the new credential offers higher prestige. “Basically, it’s a green card but much better,” he said. “Much more powerful, a much stronger path.”
Absent from the announcement, according to AP’s report, were any requirements for corporate job creation or limits on how many cards may be issued, features still embedded in the EB-5 framework. Trump instead focused on complaints he said he had heard from executives unable to retain standout graduates from U.S. universities because those students lacked long-term immigration status. “You can’t hire people from the best colleges because you don’t know whether or not you can keep the person,” he said.
The rollout arrives as Trump continues to advance restrictive immigration efforts on other fronts. His second term has been defined by mass enforcement actions, including large-scale deportation operations in cities such as Charlotte and Los Angeles. Yet, even as he presses a hard line at the U.S.–Mexico border, he has also argued that highly skilled immigrants should have an opening to stay, a position that has prompted unease among some of his most loyal “Make America Great Again” supporters.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick outlined some of the operational features, noting a $15,000 vetting fee and asserting that a rigorous background review would “make sure these people absolutely qualify to be in America.” Companies may apply for multiple cards, but must designate one person per card. Lutnick added that current green card holders earn less than the average American and that Trump wants the influx of newcomers to reflect different economic profiles. “So, same visas, but now just full of the best people,” he said.
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The United States joins a group of nations already offering investor-based residency options, from Spain and Greece to Canada and Australia. Trump said he expects the American version to draw strong interest, especially from graduates of leading U.S. institutions in China, India, and France. “The companies are going to be very happy,” he said, predicting that the program will bring “some tremendous people” into the country.
