In under 24 hours, more than 15,000 foreigners have signed up for the Trump ‘gold card” that offers applicants residency and a path to U.S. citizenship, President Donald Trump announced on June 12.
Trump touts the program as a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” though it comes with a required $5 million payment to the U.S. government. The president’s offering to wealthy foreigners comes at the same time the president is spearheading a controversial nationwide immigration crackdown and pushing Congress to pass a massive tax and policy bill amid concerns about ballooning budget deficits.
“More than fifteen thousand have signed up and joined the Waiting List since we opened the site last night! That’s $75 Billion Dollars to help balance our Budget, and strengthen America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 12. “The opportunity to live in the Greatest Country, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with the largest Economy in the World, is here.”
The fact that 15,000 people have signed up at trumpcard.gov does not automatically translate to $75 billion. The website only asks for basic information – it does not seek proof of financial wherewithal and involve any other form of vetting.
The opening up of the applications for the gold card comes less than 10 days after a controversial revival of a travel ban prohibiting legal entry of foreign nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Trump issued partial travel suspensions for foreign nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The website shows an image of the gold-colored card, emblazoned with a likeness of Trump’s face, and asks a few questions including name, region, email address and if an applicant is applying for themselves or as a business. It also asks interested people to fill out a form that specifies where they are from among eight regions on the planet: Europe, Asia (including Middle East), North America, Oceania, Central America, South America, Caribbean and Africa.
Trump has said that he is not seeking approval from Congress because he is not providing gold card buyers with citizenship – only a path to citizenship. The path to citizenship requirements for card buyers are unclear and White House officials have said more details will be provided soon.
The most common path to U.S. citizenship through naturalization is being a lawful permanent resident for at least five years. It requires the applicant to be least 18 years old when they apply, be able to read, write, and speak basic English depending on age and be of “good moral character.”
When he first floated the idea in February, Trump said the card would replace the “EB-5” immigrant investor green card visa program.
The EB-5 visa allows immigrant investors the option to invest between $800,000 and $1.05 million to obtain a green card. The investment money is used to help create or preserve U.S. jobs.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 15,000 foreigners in line for $5 million ‘gold card,’ Trump says
