President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised some eyebrows during the Administration's first official cabinet meeting. It was announced that the EB5 'Investor Visa' program will be replaced by what President Trump calls the 'Gold Card.'
Under the current EB5 system, an applicant must invest a million dollars in a business that creates at least 10 jobs. In return, the applicant receives a Green Card, which provides permanent residency status.
The 'Gold Card' would require the applicant to pay 5 million dollars. In return, the approved applicant would receive a 'Green Card Plus,' including a path to citizenship.
🚨 TRUMP ON THE NEW "GOLD CARD": "If we sell a million - that's $5 trillion... if we sell 10 million, that's $50 trillion. That means our debt is totally paid off, and we have $15 trillion above that."
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 26, 2025
"Maybe we won't sell many at all, but I think we're gonna sell a lot... no… pic.twitter.com/Bt0fiYYM6R
The entire post:
TRUMP ON THE NEW "GOLD CARD": "If we sell a million - that's $5 trillion... if we sell 10 million, that's $50 trillion. That means our debt is totally paid off, and we have $15 trillion above that.""Maybe we won't sell many at all, but I think we're gonna sell a lot... no other country can do this."The "gold card" is basically like a "Green Card Plus" for immigrants.The people who buy it would still need to be vetted.
Secretary Lutnick explains further.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explains President Trump's new Gold Card, which will replace the fraudulent EB-5 program pic.twitter.com/zGhMewHka6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 26, 2025
There are currently two hundred and fifty thousand people on the EB5 waiting list, and the administration believes it can raise trillions to pay down the national debt.
As Lutnick describes it, the program is an extension of the existing EB5 program. It adds a 5 million dollar fee and increases oversight of the investment requirements.
Despite the fact that the new proposal adds investment, oversight, and vetting requirements, the anti-Trump left couldn't help but do a little pearl-clutching as soon as it was announced.
So now we are going to sell US citizenship for $5 million. https://t.co/tz3DaJv02v
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 26, 2025
While Trump's proposal is unique, investment-style visas are pretty common. Even those with a path to citizenship.
Per Grok, all of these countries do it too:
— Athol Dickson (@AtholDickson) February 26, 2025
Portugal - Minimum investment: €250,000 (cultural donation) or €500,000 (real estate or business). Residency in 6-12 months; citizenship after 5 years with minimal stay (7 days/year); Schengen access.
Spain - Minimum investment:…
Here's the whole list:
Portugal - Minimum investment: €250,000 (cultural donation) or €500,000 (real estate or business). Residency in 6-12 months; citizenship after 5 years with minimal stay (7 days/year); Schengen access
.Spain - Minimum investment: €500,000 (real estate). Residency in 2-6 months; citizenship after 10 years (or 2 for some nationalities); Schengen access.
Greece - Minimum investment: €250,000 (real estate in less dense areas) or €800,000 (high-demand areas). Residency in 2-3 months; citizenship after 7 years; Schengen access.
Italy - Minimum investment: €250,000 (startups) or €500,000 (business/real estate). Residency in 6-12 months; citizenship after 10 years; Schengen access.
Cyprus - Minimum investment: €300,000 (real estate). Permanent residency in 2-6 months; citizenship after 7 years; Schengen hopeful (not yet a member).
Malta - Minimum investment: €300,000 (real estate) plus €40,000 fee. Permanent residency in 4-6 months; citizenship after 7 years via separate program; Schengen access.
Canada - Quebec Investor Program: CAD 1.2 million (about $870,000 USD) in a government fund. Permanent residency in 2-4 years; citizenship after 5 years with 2 years’ physical presence.
Australia - Significant Investor Visa (SIV): AUD 2.5 million (about $1.65 million USD). Residency in 1-2 years; citizenship after 4 years with 160 days’ residency.
United Kingdom - Investor Visa (Tier 1): £2 million (about $2.5 million USD). Residency in 3-6 months; citizenship after 5-6 years with 450 days’ presence.
Hungary - Minimum investment: €250,000 (real estate or business). Residency in 6-12 months; citizenship after 8 years; Schengen access.
Latvia - Minimum investment: €60,000 (business) or €250,000 (real estate). Residency in 3-6 months; citizenship after 10 years; Schengen access.
Thailand - Thailand Privilege Program: THB 650,000 (about $18,000) fee for residency perks. Long-term visa (5-20 years); no direct citizenship path but renewable.
One of the things that Trump seems to have learned from his first administration is to ignore the noise. While the left continues to fearmonger and meltdown, Trump and his administration just keep moving forward to implement his agenda.
REPORTER: Would a Russian oligarch be eligible for a gold card?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 25, 2025
TRUMP: Yeah, possibly. Hey. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people. pic.twitter.com/alaafj3isH
No current restrictions prevent Russians from applying for an EB5 visa, but we're sure Rupar knows that.
Trump should hide a few Gold Cards in random candy bars in Europe, Asia and Africa. The world would go into a frenzy. pic.twitter.com/HZFaUydSTE
— Dr. Clayton Forrester (@DrClaytonForre1) February 26, 2025
That's a great idea, so long as they're willing to pay 5 million for the candy bar.
Will the 'Gold Cards' raise enough money to payoff the national debt? Who knows. But watching the left meltdown over the idea is worth the price of admission.
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