US President Donald Trump has announced the design of his administration’s new "$5 million gold card” visa, offering a fresh alternative to America’s existing EB-5 investor program. Aboard Air Force One, Trump held up the gold card before reporters and said, “For $5 million, this could be yours,” before adding, “That was the first of the cards. You know what that card is? It’s the gold card — the Trump card.”
The visa, officially named the “Gold Card”, is metallic gold in colour and features Donald Trump's own image. It carries a printed value of $5 million, which translates to about ₹43 crores.
Announced earlier in February, the Gold Card visa program offers residency to foreign nationals in exchange for a $5 million investment, effectively granting them green card-level privileges.
However, the card does not offer immediate US citizenship. It is expected to serve as a pathway to citizenship at a later stage.
While Trump declared himself the first buyer of the Gold Card, he didn’t specify who the second recipient might be. “It will be out in less than two weeks, probably,” he said.
The details on how to apply for the visa are yet to be released.
An alternative to Green Card
The Gold Card is being marketed as a premium alternative to the traditional Green Card, which allows permanent residency in the US. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Green Card holders can live and work permanently in the United States but must go through a naturalization process to become citizens.
