According to reports from financial news website "Investing" and The Times of India, U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick talked about the U.S. immigration "Gold Card" program in a blog on the 20th, saying that he sold 1,000 immigration "Gold Cards" in one day. The report pointed out that this move is aimed at helping to repay the U.S. national debt.

Lutnick also said:

There are 37 million people in the world who can afford to buy this card… The president thinks we can sell a million of them.”

Lutnick said that the immigration "Golden Card" program was launched in accordance with Trump's proposal. The card can replace the traditional green card and the cardholder can obtain permanent residency in the United States. Although cardholders can choose to become U.S. citizens, Lutnick pointed out that most people may not do so because once they become U.S. citizens, they will be subject to U.S. global taxation. Instead, cardholders will have the right to reside in the United States and only need to pay taxes on their income in the United States, while their global income will not be taxed.

Lutnick also mentioned that each immigration "gold card" costs $5 million and that if the cardholder violates the law, the "gold card" may be revoked.

Filling the deficit “black hole”

Gold Immigration Card is priced at US$5 million

After returning to the White House, US President Trump has made frequent efforts in immigration policy. In addition to deporting illegal immigrants, Trump also announced that he would launch a new "game" to attract wealthy immigrants - the Gold Immigration Card.

We’re going to sell gold cards. You have a green card, and this is a gold card. We’re going to price this card at about $5 million, so you get the same treatment as a green card, and it’s also a path to citizenship. Rich people are going to buy this card to come into our country.”

Trump said in the Oval Office of the White House on February 25 local time that he would launch a "gold card" visa program to open up a new path to obtain residency and eventually naturalization for foreigners who invest at least $5 million in projects in the country. Trump said the program will be launched in about two weeks. He also said that he did not think the administration needed to obtain congressional approval for this. He said the federal government could sell 10 million "gold cards" to reduce the deficit.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick said the "Golden Card" is actually a green card or permanent legal residency that will raise the bar for investors and, like other green cards, will include a path to citizenship. At the same time, he noted that the "Golden Card" program will also eliminate "potential fraud" in the EB-5 visa program.

The newly launched "Gold Card" program is similar to the existing EB-5 visa program, but with a higher "price."

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website shows that the EB-5 visa is an employment-based immigrant visa for foreign investors. It was established by the U.S. Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economic development by attracting foreign capital and creating jobs. The visa program allows foreign investors (and their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21) to apply for permanent legal residency (becoming a green card holder) by making necessary investments in U.S. commercial enterprises. The Congressional Research Service reported in 2021 that the EB-5 visa has fraud risks, including whether the funds were obtained through legal means.

On March 4, local time, Trump again talked about the "Gold Card" project he mentioned earlier in his speech to a joint session of Congress. Trump said that with only $5 million, "talented, hard-working, job-creating" people from all over the world can come to the United States, and these people will pay a lot of money, and the United States will use the money to "reduce debt."