This week, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced to have hit a milestone with the Gold Card visas, selling 1,000 in just a day. At $ 5 million each, this would result in a $ 5 billion cash influx.
On 25 February 2025, the Trump administration announced a significant shift in the US immigration policy. Going forward, foreign nationals would have the possibility to buy a so-called Gold Card visa, offering them a streamlined route to permanent residency and eventual citizenship.
“We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million. It’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship,” President Trump stated during an Oval Office briefing at the time.
President Donald Trump said he is starting a program to offer residency and a path to citizenship to investors who pay $5 million.
— Bloomberg (@business) February 25, 2025
The US leader said the program, dubbed the “gold card,” would launch in two weeks https://t.co/53AXI2hNhl pic.twitter.com/UkmJzEDAuo
Just a month after the introduction of the idea and before their official introduction, the Gold Card visas are a great success according to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. During an appearance on the All-In Podcast, he said the scheme had hit a milestone by selling 1,000 visas in just a day.
“There are 37 million people in the world who are capable of buying the card… The president thinks we can sell a million,” Lutnick said speaking on the podcast.
By paying $ 5 million, foreign nationals would get permanent residency in the United States. They could also apply for citizenship but Lutnick stated most will probably opt out in order to avoid US global taxes.
“If you are a US citizen, you end up paying global tax. So, outsiders will certainly not come to the US to pay global tax. What they are going to have is to have the right to be in America (indefinitely, and at any time they want) by paying $5 million. They will be vetted, so they will be good people – those who will abide by the law. The US can always revoke it if they are evil or indulge in illegal activity,” he explained.
🚨BREAKING:
— Ivanka Trump 🇺🇲 🦅 News (@IvankaNews_) March 22, 2025
1,000 Gold Cards sold this week alone for $5M each!
Thats $5,000,000,000 in just a week! pic.twitter.com/oomurlhdFR
He also added that if he hadn’t been American, he would have bought six Gold Cards; one for himself, one for his wife and one for each of his four children. That way, he would have the option to move to the US if a disaster took place.
“And once I’m ‘home’ and safe, I can resume my life, do business, or whatever else I want. And all their money earned abroad is non-taxable. Only what they earn in America when they live here will be taxable – that is the idea,” he added.
Gold Card visas replace EB-5 programme
Previously, a somewhat similar concept already existed in the US. The so-called EB-5s were created by Congress in 1990 and allowed immigrants to obtain a green card by investing at least $ 1 million in a company employing at least 10 people. The aim of the measure was to generate foreign investment and in 2024, more than 4,500 EB-5 visas were issued according to information from the Economic Times.
Once active, the Gold Card visas would thus replace the EB-5s. However, Congress extended the EB-5 programme until 2027 in 2022, which means Congressional action would be needed to change it but according to Trump, this won’t be necessary.
What would the Gold Cards mean for the US economy?
At $ 5 million each, the Gold Card visas have a much higher price tag than other similar schemes in Spain, Portugal or even the United Arab Emirates. However, Trump is confident that the Gold Cards would have a big impact on the US economy.
“We’ll be able to sell maybe a million of these cards, maybe more than that. And if you add up the numbers, they’re pretty good. As an example, a million cards would be worth $ 5 trillion,” he said during a press conference at the Oval Office.
President Trump has officially sold 1,000 ‘Gold Cards’ at $5 Million each, raising $5 Billion in a single day to help pay off the US debt. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/OwofSUJmet
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) March 27, 2025
Even though Trump hopes to reduce the national debt with the new visas, it is unclear yet whether or not that will actually be the case. As the national debt currently stands at $ 36.22 trillion, many visas would have to be sold in order to even put a dent in it.
Moreover, the question remains if whether or not people would actually be interested in buying the US Gold Card. A poll by Forbes amongst 18 billionaires revealed that 13 of them would not be interested, while only two of them would seriously consider buying one. On top of that, countries such as Spain and the United Arab Emirates offer similar visas for less money and with greater passport opportunities.
