Trump Gold Card to be among paths into U.S.

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

USA TODAY

Millionaire foreign nationals looking to 'Unlock life in America' have the golden opportunity to pay for a visa and a path to citizenship, according to the trumpcard.gov website.

President Donald Trump’s long-touted Trump Gold Card, which he said in February would cost $5million, is available for $1million. Or for a $5million contribution, foreign high-rollers will soon be able to obtain a Trump Platinum Card that allows them to spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.

'THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT’S TRUMP GOLD CARD IS HERE TODAY!' wrote Trump on Truth Social on Dec.10, the day of the revamped website debut. 'A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent.'

The first step to apply requires a non-refundable $15,000 processing fee to the Department of Homeland Security. The applicants will be vetted and approved by the DHS, then following a $1million donation can expect to receive U.S. residency in 'record time,' according to the website.

The new $1million Trump Gold Card is a donation, with no indication of any of the money ever going back to the people buying it.

Corporations looking to procure foreign talent must fork over a $2million gift. While Trump has defended H-1B visas, which corporations utilize to bring in foreign skilled workers, he’s made it harder for companies by increasing the application cost to $100,000.

For an individual applicant or corporate sponsor looking to sponsor a spouse or unmarried children under the age of 21, they’d be required to pay an additional $15,000 DHS processing fee and $1million gift per person, according to the site, which accepts the fees online.

A family of four would be looking at shelling out north of $4.6million.

'Wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card,' Trump said in February when he first introduced the concept. '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.'

Trump has said that he is not seeking approval from Congress as he is not providing gold card buyers with citizenship – only a path to citizenship.

Other countries also have immigration programs that offer permanent residency or citizenship to foreign investors in exchange for investment. Portugal, for example, offers residency and a path to European Union citizenship after five years.

When he first floated the idea in February, Trump said the card would replace the 'EB-5' immigrant investor green card visa program. However, according to the website, the immigrants coming on the new gold card would be on an EB-1 or EB-2 visa, which are employment-based visas for highly skilled professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability in a particular field.

'A $1million gift upon completion of the individual’s vetting is evidence that the individual will substantially benefit the United States,' the site says.