New “Trump Cards” Debut, Expediting Visa Process for Those Who Pay $1 Million


The president was vague regarding how the funds from the Trump Card program would actually be used.

By Chris Walker , 

Truthout

December 11, 2025

The Trump Gold Card picture is displayed on a mobile phone screen, in front of a computer keyboard.Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images


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On Wednesday, through a legally dubious executive order, President Donald Trump launched the “Trump Card,” a means by which wealthy immigrants or their corporate backers can expedite their visa process and gain entry into the United States.

“THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT’S TRUMP GOLD CARD IS HERE TODAY!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. “A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING!”

Despite Trump’s post, recipients of Trump Cards do not receive a “direct path to citizenship,” but rather secure “a lawful permanent resident status as an EB-1 or EB-2 visa holder.” They can theoretically begin the process of becoming a naturalized citizen after obtaining those statuses.

Two types of Trump “Gold” Cards are listed on an official government website: an individual card and one for corporations to use for their employees.

The individual Trump Gold Card requires a $15,000 payment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), plus some extra fees. With an additional $1 million contribution and a fully vetted background check, recipients can expedite their visa process.

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The Trump Gold Card for corporations requires the same fees plus a $2 million contribution from a company to sponsor a foreign worker. The “card” allows the company to “transfer” who the card applies to (e.g. other workers) for a 5 percent fee.

The site also mentions that a Trump “Platinum” Card is coming soon. That card, which will cost $5 million for individuals, will grant the recipient residency, plus 270 days in the U.S. “without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.”

“Once an applicant is approved, a Trump Gold Card will be available for use throughout all 50 states and territories,” the website brags, adding that it will become “evidence that the individual will substantially benefit the United States.”

Trump first proposed the idea of a Trump Card for expediting the immigration process in February. His initial proposal aimed at providing immigrants a faster pathway toward citizenship, not work visas, and would have cost individuals $5 million, not $1 million.

Experts say the lower price tag is likely indicative of the administration expecting low demand for the cards.

Trump issued an executive order in September that officially began the process of making Trump Cards a priority. Per the order, the cards are meant to prioritize the admission of immigrants “who will affirmatively benefit the Nation, including successful entrepreneurs, investors, and businessmen and women.”

Trump has not yet detailed where the funds collected from the cards will go — he has simply stated that they will enter “an account where we can do things positive for the country,” and that the program will generate “many billions of dollars.”

For the program to produce $2 billion, at least 2,000 individuals, or 1,000 workers sponsored by corporations (or a combination of those two numbers) would be required.

Some legal experts expect challenges to the Trump Card — notably, Trump’s executive order may not be based on any applicable law or power the president has been granted.

“Congress writes the rules [on visas]. The president can’t just snap his fingers and change the rules,” explained Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute, speaking to Forbes in September.

Other critics suggested there could be ways around the process for people with some level of wealth.

“The Trump admin says anyone who pays $1 million will be deemed to have ‘exceptional business ability’ and become eligible for an employment-based immigrant visa. But there’s nothing stopping someone from just getting a loan or using parents’ money,” wrote Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.

The Trump Cards are yet another attempt by the president to make it harder for immigrants who are poorer or seeking better opportunities to come to the U.S. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act, for example, requires asylum seekers, for the first time ever, to pay fees for their applications, placing an additional burden on people who may be fleeing political persecution in their home countries.

Trump’s new visa program also appears to be based on racism and a desire to attract immigrants from countries with whiter populations.

Notably, in 2018, Trump was reported as describing immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, and African nations as coming from “shithole countries” during a meeting at the White House. At the time, Trump denied making the comment — but he repeated the phrase this week.

“We had a meeting. And I say: Why is it we only take people from shithole countries, right?” Trump told an audience at a rally he held in Pennsylvania this week. “Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden — just a few — let us have a few. From Denmark –- do you mind sending us a few people? Send us some nice people, do you mind?”