Donald Trump Unveils $5M ‘Gold Card’ for US Citizenship—But What Happens When He Leaves Office?
Donald Trump has introduced a flashy new “Gold Card” that could offer a streamlined path to U.S. citizenship—if you have $5 million to spare. But what happens to the program once Trump leaves office?
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on April 3, Trump revealed the sleek, credit-card-sized document emblazoned with the words The Trump Card and his own image.
Originally teased in February, the Gold Card is designed to modify the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which currently grants U.S. visas to investors who put at least $1 million into a business that creates 10 or more jobs.
“For $5 million, this could be yours,” Trump declared. “You know what that card is? It’s the Gold Card, the Trump Card.” He promised it would be available within two weeks—but what exactly does it offer?
Who Can Buy a Gold Card?
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick shed light on the exclusive nature of the program, emphasizing that it’s not for everyone.
“They’ll be wealthy, successful, and spending a lot of money, paying a lot of taxes, and employing a lot of people,” Lutnick explained. “We think it’s going to be extremely successful.”
Applicants must also prove they are “wonderful, world-class global citizens,” according to Lutnick. He estimated that 37 million people worldwide could afford a Gold Card, and both individuals and corporations would be eligible to invest.
Lutnick further claimed that the U.S. had already sold 1,000 Gold Cards last month, raising a staggering $5 billion in a single day.
Trump’s Gold Card features an image of his face (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Image)
What does the Gold Card do?
Buy purchasing a Gold Card, owners will be able to live in the US, but they will not have to pay taxes to the US government on any income they make from overseas.
Gold Card owners will still have the right to apply for citizenship in the US if they would like it, though the card also provides a pathway to residency without having to fully integrate into American society.
Beyond the benefits to the buyer, Trump has also claimed the Gold Card would help boost the economy in the US, saying Thursday: “It’s gonna be a booming country … It’s going to be amazing, actually. We see it because we have trillions of dollars committed to come in.”
Should the country succeed in selling 200,000 Gold Cards at $5 million each, it would raise $1 trillion – a figure which could help tackle the national debt.
Lutnick has claimed the card has already raised $5 billion in a single day (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
What Happens to the Gold Card Once Trump Leaves Office?
While Trump seems pleased to have his face emblazoned on the residency-granting Gold Card, its actual power beyond his presidency remains uncertain.
Trump has hinted at seeking a third term, but he has been notably silent on the long-term viability of the Gold Card. The key issue is congressional approval.
A sitting president alone cannot establish a pathway to citizenship—such a program would require legislative backing. Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told CNN: “Congress would have to legislate a new program. I really don’t know what legal authority you would have to just create this new program out of whole cloth.”
Immigration lawyer Charles Kuck echoes this, stating that Trump has “literally no legal power to create a visa category.” Even if Congress were to approve modifications to the existing EB-5 program, a future administration or Congress could amend or repeal it.
If the plan never secures congressional approval, a future president could easily revoke it through executive action, rendering the Gold Card meaningless.
For now, Trump appears more focused on promoting the card—complete with its golden likeness of his face—than outlining a concrete plan for its future viability.
