Trump unveils Rs 42.5 crore ‘Gold Card’ visa- a premium path to US citizenship; This is how you can get yours

Aboard Air Force One on Thursday, April 3, US President Donald Trump proudly revealed the design of his administration’s new "$5 million gold card” visa, offering a fresh—and flashy—alternative to America’s existing EB-5 investor program.

Holding up the card before reporters, Trump said, “For $5 million, this could be yours,” before adding, “That was the first of the cards. You know what that card is? It’s the gold card — the Trump card.”

The visa, officially named the “Gold Card”, is metallic gold in colour and features Donald Trump's own image. It carries a printed value of $5 million, which translates to about ₹43 crore, and is also referred to as “The Trump Card.”

Announced earlier in February, the Gold Card visa program offers residency to foreign nationals in exchange for a $5 million investment, effectively granting them green card-level privileges. However, the card does not offer immediate US citizenship. It is expected to serve as a pathway to citizenship at a later stage.

While Trump declared himself the first buyer of the Gold Card, he didn’t specify who the second recipient might be. “It will be out in less than two weeks, probably,” he said, according to CNN.

That timeline places the launch around April 17–18, though details on how to apply for the visa are yet to be released.

The Gold Card is being marketed as a premium alternative to the traditional Green Card, which allows permanent residency in the US. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Green Card holders can live and work permanently in the United States but must go through a naturalization process to become citizens.

Economic prospects and potential revenue

Officials predict that the new visa could generate massive revenue. Trump highlighted that the program would attract business leaders capable of creating jobs and driving economic growth, noting, "They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it’s going to be extremely successful."

Impact on skilled workers and Indian applicants

While the gold card visa is geared toward attracting massive investments, it may widen existing inequalities in the immigration system. Indian applicants—many of whom have long relied on the EB-5 programme—now face a steeper $5 million hurdle. Critics warn that this shift could further marginalize skilled professionals who already endure decades-long green card backlogs.