‘It’s a bargain’: Trump floats plan to let foreigners buy American residency for $5 million

President Donald Trump announced a plan this week to begin selling residency in the U.S. to those qualifying foreign nationals who are willing to cough up several million dollars.

“You have a green card. This is a gold card,” Trump
said while signing executive orders Tuesday. “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.”

Trump said that his gold card initiative would not only extract a one-time lump sum payment from successful and/or wealthy migrants but prompt them to spend “a lot of money,” pay full taxes, and employ locals in the United States. He indicated further that American companies could buy gold cards on behalf of foreign talent.

The president suggested that more than 1 million vetted candidates might opt in to the program in hopes of securing a pathway to citizenship. This would mean a $5 trillion payday on gold card acquisitions alone.

When discussing the program further during his Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump stated, “I happen to think it’s going to sell like crazy. It’s a bargain.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated that the gold card initiative would be an improvement on the existing investment visa program known as EB-5, which he said was “full of nonsense, make-believe, and fraud, and it was a way to get a green card that was low-priced.”

‘It’s going to sell like crazy.’

Under the
EB-5 program, foreign investors, their spouses, and their unmarried children under the age of 21 are eligible to apply for permanent residence if they commit to investing at least $1.05 million in a U.S.-based commercial enterprise as well as to creating or preserving 10 permanent full-time jobs for American workers.

“The president said, ‘Rather than having this sort of ridiculous EB-5 program, we’re going to end the EB-5 program,'” said Lutnick. “‘We’re going to replace it with the Trump gold card.'”

Lutnick and Trump indicated that the program would help pay down the deficit.

After Trump appeared to suggest that applicants from any nation could apply, a reporter asked whether Russian oligarchs would be eligible. The president expressed an openness but noted they’re likely “not quite as wealthy as they used to be.”

While the president insisted it is within his authority to replace the EB-5 visa program and institute his own, Forbes
noted that the U.S. Constitution assigns Congress the authority to regulate immigration under Article 1, Section 8. Consequently, Trump’s plan may face significant legal challenges even with Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress.

Numerous countries around the globe have similar golden visa programs whereby individuals can secure residence by investment.
According to London-based consultancy Henley & Partners, Canada, the United Kingdom, and over 60% of EU member states have active golden visa programs.

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