The “gold card” immigration visa plan of U.S. President Donald Trump, designed to offer permanent residency at the cost of $5 million, is being tested, according to tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Unveiled aboard Air Force One, the cash-backed path to citizenship is already stirring up global buzz and elite wallets. The card, branded the “Trump Card,” doesn’t just promise U.S. residency, it also offers tax breaks, elite status, and a promise: no quotas, no waitlists, and certainly no “woke” bureaucracy.
Musk let the cat out of the bag, announcing on X: “Once it is fully tested, it will be rolled out to the public with an announcement by the president.” The response came as a nod to a thread by blockchain entrepreneur Mario Nawfal, who had already dug up a federal website and digital backend built by none other than the Department of Government Efficiency—DOGE.
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The program is changing the trajectory – proving that the fastest route to American soil is no longer through asylum, talent, or hardship—it’s through wire transfer.
“Over 1,000 gold cards have already been sold,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in April.
That’s $5 billion in one day—enough to light up Washington’s accounting books. With an estimated 37 million people globally who can afford the price tag, the Trump administration believes this scheme could help chip away at the country’s towering $36.5 trillion debt.
While the details are still sketchy, the plan so far is this simple: no job creation requirement, no background of innovation or achievement necessary. Just five million dollars and a taste for exclusivity.
EB-5, Meet Your Replacement
For years, the EB-5 investor visa served as the go-to route for high-net-worth individuals to secure U.S. green cards, particularly Indians wary of H-1B bottlenecks and green card purgatory. That program demanded a lower investment, $800,000 in targeted areas, and came with strings attached: job creation, bureaucratic scrutiny, and fees nearing $200,000.
By contrast, the Trump Card ditches the red tape for a red carpet.
Nawfal calls it what it is: “a high-roller fast lane to U.S. residency.” He touts it as having “no woke quotas, no endless backlogs—just cash, credentials, and country club-level vetting.” Critics might call it plutocracy by another name.
Tax-Free Paradise for the Ultra-Rich
One of the card’s more startling perks is a possible exemption from U.S. global taxation, allowing holders to earn abroad without Uncle Sam’s gaze. For many billionaires, that’s not just a perk—it’s a dealmaker.
“If Trump gives golden visa holders an exemption on their worldwide income outside of the U.S., it will make the $5-million price tag look like chaar anna for rich people,” said Russell A. Stamets of Circle of Counsels, comparing the price tag to pocket change in India’s old currency.
He also pointed to another dimension of the appeal: the easing of anti-bribery and anti-corruption oversight under Trump’s second term.
“The golden visa may prove very attractive for a certain set of the global wealthy,” he noted.
India’s Shortcut Just Got Shut
For many Indian investors, the EB-5 visa has been the lifeboat out of America’s labyrinthine immigration process. That lifeboat might now be gone.
Varun Singh, managing director at XIPHIAS Immigration, warns that it could lead to serious consequences.
“The removal of the EB-5 visa programme would be a severe blow to Indian investors, the U.S. economy, and bilateral ties,” he said. “It has been an economic driver, with Indian investors contributing billions of dollars to real estate, infrastructure, and technology sectors in the U.S.”
The risk isn’t just economic—it’s reputational. The U.S. has long framed its immigration system as merit-based. Now, many believe it is leaning uncomfortably close to selling citizenship to the highest bidder.
“The shift signals a philosophical break,” Singh added. “Indian investors may now turn to other global residency programmes such as Greece’s Golden Visa, Portugal’s Golden Visa, and schemes in the UAE and Canada. These provide faster routes, with less political theater.”
The American Dream—Repriced
For many around the world, the American dream has always been aspirational. But with the Trump Card, the dream is now transactional.
Time will tell if the program succeeds in helping cut the U.S. debt, or simply becomes a collector’s item for oligarchs. However, for a growing class of ultra-wealthy global citizens, the border is no longer a barrier. It’s a velvet rope, and Trump just handed them the VIP pass.
