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Trump wants to sell $5 million gold cards to foreigners who will create US jobsTrump said the immigration program, which he said was legal, could start in about two weeks. He added it is possible Russian oligarchs could qualify for the gold cards.
Reuters
Last Updated IST
<div class="paragraphs"><p>US President Donald Trump. </p></div>

US President Donald Trump.

Credit: Reuters file photo.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday previewed his plans for a new visa program he was calling the gold card, describing it as “somewhat like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication.”

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The blingy new program would allow “very high-level people” a new “route to citizenship,” Trump said. The price tag, he said, would be about $5 million.

Trump revealed his gold card plan to reporters in the Oval Office, where he was signing his latest round of executive orders, including one related to tariffs on copper imports. His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, filled in some of the details.

Lutnick explained that “the Trump gold card,” as he called it, would replace the EB-5 visa program, which similarly provides a pathway to citizenship for wealthy foreign investor types but has been an avenue for fraud. Lutnick implied that the administration would be more discerning as to who might qualify for a gold card, though details were scant at this early stage.

“We’re going to make sure they’re wonderful world-class global citizens,” Lutnick said.

Trump added, “It will be people with money and people that create jobs.”

Asked whether a Russian oligarch might be eligible for a gold card, Trump seemed amused. “Yeah,” he replied. “Possibly.”

He added, “Hey, I know some Russian oligarchs that are nice people. It’s possible.”

Lutnick began to chuckle as Trump continued, “They’re not as wealthy as they used to be.” Starting to laugh himself, the president added, “I think they can afford $5 million.”

He predicted that the gold card program would be a moneymaker for the government, reasoning that many companies would pay the $5 million fee to bring in skilled workers.

“We’ll be able to sell maybe a million of these cards, maybe more than that,” Trump said. “If you add up the numbers, they’re pretty good.”

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(Published 26 February 2025, 07:14 IST)