On the evening of February 25, President Donald Trump announced during his first address to Congress that he would be offering “gold cards” to foreign-born potential immigrants. The gold card is expected to be sold for $5 million and will allow wealthy immigrants to gain citizenship in the United States.
“It’s like the green card, but better and more sophisticated,” Trump told several news sources, including AP News. “We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and that’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card.”
The gold card is a variation of the “green card, more officially known as a permanent residency card, which allows non-citizens to live and work permanently in the U.S.,” CBS News defines. The American public exhibit mixed reactions about the emergence of the gold card. 41% of individuals approve of Trump’s novel visa plan, 47% disapprove, and 13% do not have an opinion on the matter, in an online survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports.
Individuals and groups advocating for the benefits of the gold card believe that the newest path to citizenship will attract wealthy individuals all over the world to the U.S., increasing overall economic growth, Fox News explains. This, in part, is supported by the idea that global citizens will bring entrepreneurial spirits and successful businesses as they enter America. Since individuals will also be paying American taxes, the change is expected to contribute to the growth of the American economy, The Conversation reports.
Nonetheless, in terms of the U.S. economy, these golden visa programs “affect only 0.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and have little to no effects on economic growth,” according to a research paper published by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Additionally, few global billionaires currently indicate interest in purchasing a gold card. “Out of 18 billionaires around the globe, 13—nearly three-quarters of those polled—expressed that they would not be interested in obtaining a gold card,” according to Forbes. Furthermore, three out of the 18 were indecisive, and two announced they would consider buying one.
“If you’re a billionaire, you don’t need it,” a Canadian billionaire told Forbes during the poll.
“Whoever has a business idea can do it now for very cheap, so why spend $5 million?” a Russian billionaire said, agreeing with the notion that billionaires do not need the gold card in the first place as many wealthy non-citizens are already tapping into the U.S. economy from abroad by overseas investments.
Furthermore, details of the visa remain unspecified, and the gold card does not yet exist as a visa category. No formal bill was introduced in Congress, nor was there a regulatory framework or eligibility criteria. Despite rumors circulating about the gold card, the card is currently only a concept and is not yet legalized, Financial Express clarifies. For the gold card to become law, it must go through congressional approval, regulatory implementation by agencies like U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and overcome unforeseen delays. Nevertheless, Trump announced that the “sale of cards would begin in about two weeks and [that] millions of cards would be sold,” according to CNN.
The last renewal in the visa program was during 2022 with the Biden administration. The minimum investment requirements were then raised to current standards, which is a contrast to Trump’s noticeable reform that is garnering a multitude of public responses. This new step in reform is expected to bring change in the American economy, as Trump stated that he had more plans to alter U.S. immigration policies throughout his presidency.
