Trump's $5 mn Gold Card visa gets over 68,000 global sign-ups in 5 days

Over 68,000 people have registered for Donald Trump's new $5 million 'Gold Card' visa, pitched as a premium path to US residency-though legal experts warn it lacks legislative backing

More than 68,000 people have already signed up for the Trump administration’s new visa scheme known as the ‘Trump Card’, which offers foreign nationals a route to US residency in exchange for a $5 million investment, Financial Times reported, quoting commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

 

The initiative, first floated in February, was formally launched on June 12, 2025, when President Donald Trump announced the opening of the registration website http://trumpcard.gov via Truth Social. The page asks applicants to provide basic details, including name, email and region.

 

“FOR FIVE MILLION $DOLLARS, THE TRUMP CARD IS COMING!” Trump posted. “Thousands have been calling and asking how they can sign up to ride a beautiful road in gaining access to the Greatest Country and Market anywhere in the World.”

 

 

The digital card shown online features Trump’s face and signature, alongside the Statue of Liberty, a bald eagle and the American flag.

 

‘It will be made of gold’

 

Speaking to Financial Times, Lutnick said the commerce department’s dashboard showed 67,697 people on the waiting list on Monday morning. “Within an hour, the number had jumped to 68,703,” he added.

 

“The card will be made of gold,” said Lutnick. “It will be beautiful. Donald Trump appreciates these kinds of things. He cares about how it looks. He cares about how it feels. I mean, he deeply cares about that, and thinks if you’re going to buy and make this investment in America, we should give you something that is beautiful.”

 

He added that the concept came from Trump donor and billionaire investor John Paulson, who proposed it as a way to bring in revenue and reduce the US government’s $36 trillion debt.

 

What the Trump Card offers

 

• $5 million investment for green card privileges

• A path to US citizenship, details not yet disclosed

• A gold-plated digital card featuring Trump’s image

• Positioned as a premium alternative to the EB-5 investor visa

• No public guidelines from US Citizenship and Immigration Services yet

 

Earlier this year, Trump described the card as “somewhat like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication,” and said, “Wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card.”

 

Interest from Indian applicants

 

Lutnick visited India in May and addressed the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit in New Delhi, where he promoted the card to Indian investors.

 

“I expect the Trump Card will create really an enormous opportunity for people to have the ability to come to America,” said Lutnick. “We are going to be incredibly successful in India.”

 

Legal uncertainty over the scheme

 

While the administration claims the visa programme does not require new legislation, legal experts have pointed out that any replacement of the EB-5 visa or creation of a similar route would need congressional approval.

 

According to Reuters, an internal memo by the state department’s legal team warned that the scheme carries a “high risk” of being blocked by the Office of Management and Budget or challenged in federal court. The memo noted that charging $5 million — far beyond the cost of processing a visa — “is contrary to settled Supreme Court precedent.”

 

Nicholas Mastroianni III, president and chief marketing officer of US Immigration Fund, told Business Standard, “The proposed Trump ‘Gold Card’ is not law. It has no legislative text, no USCIS framework, and no defined criteria around family eligibility, job creation, or adjustment benefits. In contrast, the EB-5 program is well-established, over 30 years old, grounded in federal law, with over 100,000 green cards issued.”