“THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT’S TRUMP GOLD CARD IS HERE TODAY! A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people,” said President Donald Trump in a Thursday X post. “SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent.”
What is the Trump Gold Card? It’s part of a program the president established via executive order in September to “facilitate the entry of aliens who have demonstrated their ability and desire to advance the interests of the United States by voluntarily providing a significant financial gift to the Nation.”
That gift includes a contribution of $1 million and a $15,000 processing fee and it comes with U.S. residency, as proven by the Trump Gold Card. Other charges may apply, per the Trump Gold Card website.
There is also the Trump Corporate Gold Card available for a $2 million contribution that businesses can use to onboard employees from other countries.
“Your Trump Corporate Gold Card allows your business to transfer access from one employee and grant it to another with a small, 5% transfer fee, which includes the cost of a DHS background check. A 1% annual maintenance fee will also apply,” said the gold card site. It says another option, the $5 million Trump Platinum Card, is also coming soon.
“Foreign nationals can sign up now and secure their places on the waiting list for the Trump Platinum Card,” according to the site. “When launched, and upon receipt of a $15,000 [Department of Homeland Security] processing fee and $5 million contribution, they will have the ability to spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.”
To get a Trump card, people are advised to submit an application and processing fee. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is then expected to facilitate an in-depth background check and process to vet the potential card holder. If approved following a vetting process, the applicants who submit their $1 million gift will receive their Trump Gold Card.
Approval is based on “an individual’s ability to provide a substantial benefit to the United States,” the site says. Cards will provide “lawful permanent resident status as an EB-1 or EB-2 visa holder.”
“If an individual applicant or corporate sponsor wishes for a spouse or unmarried children (under 21 years old) to join the cardholder in the United States, then each such family member should be included as part of the initial application,” the site added. “This will ensure that these family members receive all of the privileges conferred by the Gold Card Program, including expedited processing. Each family member is subject to an additional $15,000 DHS processing fee and $1 million gift.”
The process to get a card should take “weeks,” once an application is approved and it includes a visa interview. Since the Trump Gold Card is technically a visa, national security and significant criminal risks could result in revocation.
While Trump and his MAGA base typically support a tough stance on immigration, there was some dissension among Republicans and Trump supporters earlier this year regarding programs to hire non-Americans for certain skilled positions.
“The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH: Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer),” said Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman and Republican who ran for president, in an X post. Elon Musk also defended companies who bring in skilled workers from other countries.
Recently, employment specialist Isaac Cheifetz joined Jason DeRusha of Audacy station WCCO News Talk in Minnesota to discuss these programs and Trump’s new approach.
“It’s valid occasionally and it’s way more valid in Silicon Valley than it is here,” he said of the specialty skill visas. He noted that most of these visas are in information technology (IT) and that companies like Facebook might need to bring over people with very specific skills.
However, those aren’t the only people coming in on these visas, Cheifetz said.
“Major corporations like Wells, like Target, Best Buy, etc., that each bring over hundreds of H1-Bs to do IT work, the majority of the work they do can be called maintenance work,” he explained. “It is not high level design work. So why are they bringing them over? Well, they’re bringing them over because they’re cheaper.”
Cheifetz described Trump’s approach as “essentially this being a tariff,” and said it could help make it more economical for companies to hire American engineers.