What Is a Gold Card? What To Know About Trump’s $5 Million Visa Idea | Global News Avenue

Can the United States start selling citizenship to the rich?

President Donald Trump proposed Tuesday to propose a $5 million “gold card” that will allow buyers to enjoy legal resident status. Trump said the card will put people on citizenship. There are few other details about the proposal, but immigration lawyers say the idea needs to be approved by Congress.

How is Trump’s “gold medal” different from EB-5

Rich people are currently unable to pay citizenship to the U.S. government. However, through the EB-5 visa program, they can obtain a green card that establishes permanent legal residency and can lead to citizenship by making a passive investment of at least $800,000 in the private sector.

Trump seems to see the gold medal as a Ultra high net worth individual Rahul Soni, a partner at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, a New York-based immigration law firm, said it was to “donate” and become a citizen.

“Currently, in the U.S., this ‘donation’ option does not exist,” Sony said. “(EB-5 investment) always goes into a specific project or business to create jobs. Typically, investors return these funds to them at the end of the green card process.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the EB-5 program is designed to stimulate job creation and economic activity. Applicants must show that their investments have either created a certain amount of new work or saved work at risk of loss. Congress needs to sign when eradicating, remodeling or replacement EB-5 ProgramSony said.

Where can you buy citizenship?

Pay for citizenship While the expenses are usually a fraction of $5 million, Sony said, not unheard of. Several Caribbean countries allow people to purchase citizenship including Dominican, Grenada, and St. Kitts and Nevis. Sony estimates the average price in the region is about $300,000.

Sony said some European countries have similar avenues of citizenship, but their policies may change due to the push by the European Commission to restrict investor visas. Italy’s investment requires a range of 250,000 euros to invest in “innovation and entrepreneurship” to 2 million euros (about 2.1 million US dollars) in Italian government bonds. Soni said Portugal’s range is in the range of 250,000 to 500,000 euros (not more than $524,500).

According to the BBC, the UK was once one of the most expensive civic programs, but ended it in 2022.