Trump's ‘Gold Card’ for Immigrants: A $5 Million Route to U.S. Citizenship Explained

Trump Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the creation of a "US Gold Card" that will be available to immigrants for $5 million. POTUS announced that the Gold Card is a higher-end version of the green Card and will offer immigrants "a pathway to citizenship."

What Is Gold Card?

"We're going to sell gold cards. If you have green card, but it's a Gold Card For Immigrants. We're going to put the price of around $5 million and it will grant you green card privileges, plus," he said Tuesday in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders with the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"It's going to be a way towards the status of a citizen. The wealthy are expected to enter our country through the card. They'll be wealthy and achieve success and will spend a lot of money, paying taxes, and they'll be employing lots many people."

Trump declared that the Trump Immigration Plan would be launched within two weeks, and added that he did not believe that he needed the approval of Congress. But details on the manner in which the program will be implemented are not clear.

Possible Replacement for EB-5 Program?

Lutnick said that the new Gold Card initiative could replace the current EB-5 program which permits immigrant investors to acquire Green Cards through investing in US companies. Lutnick said that the money for the 'Gold Card' could be given directly to the federal government.

"The president has said that instead of having this kind of absurd program called EB-5, we're going to stop the program. It will be replaced using"the Trump gold cards," the president said. "They'll be able to pay $5 million to the US government not to go through vetting, of course, going to make sure they are wonderful world class, global citizens."

"They could travel to America. President Obama can grant a green card and they are able to invest in America and we could make use of that money to cut your deficit,"" said the president.