Trump's $5M 'gold card' visa to launch online, sparks debate over fraud and national security
Commerce chief says the high-stakes visa-for-investment scheme could raise $1 trillion — but critics warn of espionage, corruption, and inequality.
[FILES] US President Donald Trump makes a trade announcement as US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (L) and US Vice President JD Vance (2L) look on in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Lutnick recently confirmed that Trump’s $5 million ‘Gold Card’ visa program—promising a fast-track to US residency for wealthy foreigners—will launch online within weeks.
Jim WATSON / AFP
The Trump administration’s controversial “Gold Card” visa program — allowing wealthy foreigners to secure U.S. residency for $5 million — is expected to launch online within weeks, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Speaking at Axios' "Building the Future" event, Lutnick announced that a government website, trumpcard.gov, will go live shortly, allowing prospective applicants to begin registering for the premium visa offering. “All that will come over a matter of the next weeks — not month, weeks," he told Axios co-founder Mike Allen.
The Gold Card, first teased by former President Donald Trump in March, is being pitched as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for "the most successful job-creating people from all over the world." The administration claims it could raise up to $1 trillion in revenue — a figure based on an estimate of 200,000 participants.
“They’re going to be great people who bring businesses, jobs, and pay American taxes,” Lutnick said, adding that recipients would be "deeply vetted."
But the plan has raised red flags among immigration experts and national security analysts. Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, warned that the Gold Card — like its EB-5 predecessor — could become a magnet for fraud, especially from applicants in adversarial countries.
“People are willing to do anything and say anything to come to the U.S.," Ries said. “The question is: how is this going to be different? You’re just inviting wealthier fraudsters and corrupt people to exploit this."
She pointed to risks from potential applicants in countries like China and Russia, emphasizing the need for robust background checks to guard against espionage, corruption, and other threats.
Still, Lutnick remained upbeat. Recalling a Middle East event where hundreds showed interest in the program, he said, “Basically everyone I meet who’s not an American is going to want to buy the card if they have the fiscal capacity.”
Trump has positioned the initiative as a way to address national debt and boost economic growth while tightening the border elsewhere. But as critics continue to question the ethics and feasibility of selling citizenship, the debate over the Gold Card’s long-term impact is just getting started.
(Sources: Agence France-Presse, Fox News, CNN, Newsweek)