Trump announces new $5 million "gold card" to attract wealthy foreign investors

US President Donald Trump during a meeting with journalists at the White House announced that the US administration is set to introduce a new program in the next two weeks, which will allow foreign investors to obtain a residence permit in the country.

The program will involve issuing a “gold card” to those willing to invest substantial amounts in the American economy, Caliber.Az reports via US media.

Trump explained that the “gold card” will serve as an equivalent to the traditional “green card,” but with expanded privileges. He stated that the cost for such a card would be around $5 million. The program aims to attract wealthy foreign nationals who are willing to invest in the US, pay taxes, and create jobs.

“We will sell a ‘gold card.’ There is a ‘green card,’ and this is a ‘gold card.’ The price for this card will be set by us at about $5 million,” Trump explained. “The rich will enter our country by buying this card,” he added.

When asked about the possibility of Russian entrepreneurs participating in the program, Trump responded affirmatively. He mentioned that he knows some Russian businessmen and described them as “very good people.”

According to Trump, the “gold card” will also pave the way for acquiring US citizenship. He expressed confidence that the program would attract successful and wealthy individuals to the US, thereby benefiting the country's economy.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was present at the event, confirmed that the new program would begin in “two weeks.”

In the same breath, Lutnick criticized the current US residency program (EB-5), calling it “complete nonsense and fraud.” He argued that the EB-5 program allowed individuals to obtain a “green card” for a fraction of the cost.

“We will put an end to the EB-5 program. We will replace it with Trump’s ‘gold card,’” Lutnick emphasized.

Earlier, the court of the US state of Maryland recently issued a ruling that suspended President Trump’s executive order restricting the right to obtain US citizenship by birthright. The district judge noted that the decree conflicted with the explicit language of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and violated a 125-year precedent established by the Supreme Court.

By Tamilla Hasanova