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The United States will begin issuing its new “gold card” residency permit — priced at $5 million — within a week, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced Thursday.
Last week, US President Donald Trump unveiled the first "gold card" aboard Air Force One.
Holding a prototype that bore his face and an inscription "The Trump Card", the Republican president told reporters that the special visa would probably be available "in less than two weeks".
"I'm the first buyer," he said. "Pretty exciting, huh?"
Trump previously said that sales of the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.
The billionaire former real estate tycoon, who has made the deportation of millions of undocumented migrants a priority for his second term, said the new card would be a route to highly prized US citizenship.
He said in February that his administration hoped to sell "maybe a million" of the cards and did not rule out that Russian oligarchs may be eligible.
What is US Gold Card?
Prices at $5 million, the Gold Card program would replace the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program. EB-5s were created in 1990 as a method for immigrants to obtain green cards in which a person must invest at least $1 million in a company –or $800k in a low-income area – that employs at least 10 people. In 2024, more than 4,500 EB-5 visas were issued.
How the US Gold Card differs from the Green Card
A Green Card usually grants permanent residency through employment, investment (via the EB-5 programme), or family sponsorship. But obtaining one can be a time-consuming and complex process.
Announcing the Gold Card, President Trump said it could replace the existing investor visa programme, the EB-5. Currently, the EB-5 programme requires applicants to invest at least $1.5 million, or a reduced amount if the investment is made in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) that supports job creation for American workers.
Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/us-to-start-rolling-5-million-gold-card-within-a-week/articleshow/120171080.cms
