The president believes the U.S. could issue thousands of these new visas and has even suggested that Russian oligarchs would be welcome.
As President Donald Trump cracks down on illegal immigrants residing in the US, he’s offering migrants with enough money the opportunity to fast-track US citizenship.
On Tuesday, February 25, the Republican announced plans to introduce a $5 million “gold card” visa, allowing wealthy immigrants the opportunity to legally live and work in the United States if they meet the financial requirement.
The 78-year-old described it as a “green card privileges plus” document and suggested it could be ready for launch within two weeks.
Now, Trump has revisited the topic during his Cabinet’s inaugural meeting, expressing confidence in its success.
“I believe it’ll sell like crazy. It’s a market, but we’ll know soon,” the president stated.
“If we sell a million, that’s $5 trillion,” he added, emphasizing the potential financial impact of the program while reaffirming his belief in its widespread appeal.
“I think we will sell a lot because I think there’s really a thirst.”
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick called the program the “Trump Gold Card” and criticized the existing EB-5 visa, calling it “full of nonsense and fabricated fraud.”
Elon Musk attended Trump’s first Cabinet meeting of his second term (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The EB-5 visa costs approximately $20,000 and requires foreign investors to invest around $1 million in a U.S. business.
“We’re ending the EB-5 program and replacing it with the Trump Gold Card,” Trump announced to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, February 26.
Lutnick revealed that the “Gold Card” will be reserved for “wonderful, world-class global citizens” and will help address the federal deficit.
Speaking with journalists, he hinted that the program would introduce a unique “route to citizenship” unlike anything before.
“They’ll be wealthy, successful, and contribute significantly—spending money, paying taxes, and creating jobs,” Lutnick stated. “We believe this initiative will be extremely successful.”
Trump’s ‘gold card’ will mean Russian oligarchs could become US citizens (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We’re bringing in major taxpayers and job creators, and we might sell a million of these cards—maybe even more,” Trump said. “It could be great, maybe even fantastic.”
The president asserted that the loophole doesn’t require congressional approval.
“We don’t need Congress… It’s a strong path to citizenship, but we’re not granting citizenship. For that, I’d need Congress,” he explained.
The program would be open to foreign investors worldwide, including Russian businesspeople and oligarchs, as long as they can pay the $5 million fee.
“I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people,” Trump continued. “They’re not quite as wealthy as they used to be.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Source: UNILAD
