"Trump Gold Card" Visa Program Opens for Applications

On December 10, 2025, the Trump administration began accepting applications for the "Trump Gold Card," a fast-track immigration pathway for wealthy foreign nationals, via the official portal trumpcard.gov. Applicants pay a non-refundable $15,000 processing fee plus a $1 million payment (or $2 million per employee for corporate sponsors) in exchange for expedited lawful permanent residency as an EB-1 or EB-2 visa holder, following DHS security vetting.

Supporters described the program as a business-friendly way to attract capital and signal openness to investment. Critics noted the country already runs the EB-5 investor visa program, which has been plagued for years by fraud and opaque "regional center" schemes, and argued that launching a new pay-to-play channel rather than reforming EB-5 risks repeating those problems while explicitly commodifying access to U.S. residency.

The program raises longstanding concerns about equal treatment under immigration law, since it creates an accelerated track available only to those with seven-figure sums to spend.