President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the $5 million “gold card” would be sold “very soon” and would serve as a new path to becoming a US citizen.
“It's like a green card, but it's better and more refined,” Trump said. “And these people have to pay taxes in our country.”
Trump said the latest path to citizenship would “enable the most successful work of creating people around the world to buy the path to American citizenship.”
Trump declares before Congress that “America is back”
Vice President of the United States JD Vance, from left, US President Donald Trump and Louisiana Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will register the critical hills at the Congressional joint meeting of US Congress in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Donald Trump's Primaty Time Address Tuesday night, early nights of Capitol, at the early nights of Capitol. His second term has begun weighing the impact of his agenda as a voter who has chosen him to tackle inflation and improve the economy. (Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Gold Card” visas can also allow wealthy students to obtain permanent residency in the United States
Trump previously promoted his plans to become the world's wealthiest US citizen, but comes as he concludes his illegal migration and is increasingly in the spotlight amid the challenge of colleges' costs and student loans.
Trump announced last week that he hopes the latest visa options will be on sale in the coming weeks.
US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a speech at a joint Congressional session held at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on March 4, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via Reuters)
Trump's “Gold Card” visa can pose fraud, national security risks: Experts
Details of the latest visa remain unknown, but Trump said it was just one of his plans to revamp the US immigration policy.
Following Trump's announcement earlier this month, Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation's Border Patrol and Immigration Center, warned that it could lead to fraud.
“Immigration benefits cause fraud… People are willing to do anything and say anything to come to the US,” Reese told Fox News Digital.
In an interview with Chief Political Anchor Brett Baier on Fox News' Special Report last week, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said all candidates will be “deeply reviewed.”
He told Baier, “These are vetted people. They will become great global citizens who bring entrepreneurship, capabilities and growth to America. If one of them comes, think about the work they bring, the business they bring to them.
Ries acknowledged the goals behind the program, but she expressed skepticism that all applicants could vet to the extent necessary to prevent the types of fraud that exist as well. EB-5 Visa Programwhich replaces the gold card.
WASHINGTON, DC-March 4: US President Donald Trump arrives to attend a joint Congressional meeting at the US Capitol on March 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Vice President JD Vance applaud him. (Get McNamee/Pool via Reuters)
Click here to get the Fox News app
“It goes without saying that fraud is rarely detected and forced. Therefore, there is a low risk of committing immigration benefits scams and is a high reward,” Ries said, adding that even Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has admitted the widespread fraud that plagues the EB-5 program.
“So the question is, how is this different?” Reese said. “It raised the price from 1 million to 5 million, but how are you going to prevent fraud? Are you just invited wealthy con artists and corrupt people to misuse this?”
