The US President says the card would offer residency and a path to citizenship and attract ‘wealthy people.’
Trump said the programme is set to begin in about two weeksImage: Yuri Gripas/Pool via CNP/AdMedia/picture alliance
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday revealed plans to sell new “gold card” US residency permits at $5 million (€4.8 million) a pop, replacing a 35-year-old visa for investors.
“We’re going to be selling a gold card. You have a green card, this is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Speaking about the target audience, Trump said: “They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it’s going to be extremely successful.”
The Trump ‘gold card’
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified that the new permit — dubbed the ‘Trump Gold Card’ by reporters — would replace the EB-5 visas in two weeks.
Created in 1990 by Congress, the EB-5 visas aimed at generating foreign investment and were made available to people who would spend $1 million on a US company that employs at least 10 people.
Lutnick said the gold card was ultimately a green card or a permanent residency card, which raised investors’ entry price in the US. He said it would do away with fraud and “nonsense” that plagues the EB-5 program, eventually leading to citizenship.
Some 8000 people have used the EB-5 visa to enter the US in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2022, according to government immigration data.
In 2021, a Congressional Research Service report said that the program posed a risk of fraud.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/trump-touts-5-million-gold-card-visas-for-the-rich/a-71750538