Trump to offer 'gold card' visas to the rich for US$5 million

financialpost.com:

United States President Donald Trump said he is starting a program to offer residency and a path to citizenship to investors who pay US$5 million, offering a new avenue for legal immigration even as he carries out a sweeping crackdown on undocumented migrants.

Trump said the program, dubbed the “gold card,” would launch in two weeks, adding that he did not believe his administration needed to secure approval from Congress. The full scope of the plan and how it would be implemented was not immediately clear.

“We’re going to be selling a gold card,” Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders alongside U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

“We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about US$5 million, and that’s going to give you green card privileges,” he added, referencing the permits currently issued to U.S. permanent residents.

Lutnick said the move could replace the existing EB-5 program, which allows immigrant investors to acquire green cards by investing a certain amount toward a business in the U.S.

Asked by a reporter if participants would need to invest a certain amount of money to qualify for a gold card, Lutnick responded “yeah, exactly” but suggested that funds for the visa might be paid directly to the government.

“The president said rather than having this sort of ridiculous EB-5 program, we’re going to end the EB-5 program. We’re going to replace it with the Trump gold card, which is really a green card gold so they’ll be able to pay US$5 million to the U.S. government not to go through vetting, of course, going to make sure they are wonderful world class, global citizens.”

“They can come to America. The president can give them a green card, and they can invest in America,