President Donald Trump made a controversial decision to attract investors to the country. Trump announced that foreign investors will be able to purchase a “golden card” for $5 million, which will grant them residency in the US and a pathway to American citizenship.

After signing presidential executive orders in the Oval Office, Trump revealed the plan to sell the “Golden Card”. He stated, “We will set a price of approximately $5 million for this card, which will provide you with ‘green card’ privileges and also facilitate a transition to citizenship.” Trump emphasized that wealthy individuals who buy this card will come to the US, spend a lot of money, pay a lot of taxes, and create numerous job opportunities.

Trump mentioned that they will introduce the program in the next two weeks and claimed that they could sell 1 million or more of these cards with a highly successful program they believe in. He said, “For example, 1 million cards would be worth $5 trillion. If we sell 10 million cards, it would total $50 trillion. We have a debt of $35 trillion, so this would be good, we will see.”

Regarding who can obtain the golden card, Trump explained that it will depend on the individual case and that the recipients of this card will be carefully examined. When asked if a Russian oligarch would be eligible to get the golden card, Trump replied, “Yes, probably. I know some Russian oligarchs, they are very good people.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized the EB-5 investor visa program as “nonsense” and argued that it was a way to get a green card at a low price. Lutnick mentioned that they will terminate the EB-5 program and explained that Trump wants to introduce the “golden card” program as its replacement. Lutnick stated, “Of course, they will need to pass scrutiny, but they can come to America to ensure they are wonderful global citizens by world standards.”

A green card grants individuals the right to live and work in the US permanently. The EB-5 visa program, designed for investor immigrants in the US, allows individuals to obtain a green card by investing a certain amount and creating employment opportunities in the country.