About Trump’s Proposed $5M Gold Card…

Is President Donald Trump’s gold card ever going to come to fruition? Don’t count on it.

The Trump administration’s heavily promoted $5 million “gold card” visa program may never materialize due to legal constraints that require congressional approval for new visa categories, the Washington Post reported.

Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have touted the program since the administration’s early days as a solution for wealthy foreigners seeking U.S. residency. Trump went so far as to flash a laminated golden prototype aboard Air Force One in April, promising availability within two weeks. No dice.

The White House launched a signup website in June that has attracted 70,000 registrants interested in learning more about the program. The Department of Government Efficiency was previously reported to be collaborating with the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to build an application system.

But immigration attorneys and legal experts say the executive branch lacks the authority to create new visa categories without congressional action, an issue broached in previous administrations. The Supreme Court has established that Congress holds “plenary power” over immigration policy.

Congress has not altered visa categories in 35 years and seemingly shows little appetite for creating new residency pathways. The Republican-held Congress previously criticized executive overreach on immigration matters.

“There’s no lawful basis to do this, and if they do it anyway, they’re going to get sued, and they’re almost certainly going to lose,” said Doug Rand, senior adviser to the former director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Joe Biden.

The program was slated as a replacement for the existing EB-5 investor visa, which requires $800,000 to $1.05 million investments and job creation. They are allocated to 10,000 foreigners annually. The program, once dubbed the “crack cocaine of real estate financing,” raised $4 billion last year alone but has faced fraud allegations, including misrepresentation of investment opportunities and misallocated investor funds.

Lutnick has made ambitious claims about the gold card program’s revenue potential, suggesting it could address the country’s $1.3 trillion annual deficit. He told the Financial Times that it could eventually help pay off the entire $36 trillion national debt.

Lutnick once claimed he sold 1,000 gold card visas in one day, though no money reportedly changed hands.

Immigration attorneys are advising clients to avoid the waiting list until legal pathways become clearer. Philadelphia-based attorney Ron Klasko said he has discouraged Canadian and European clients from signing up without knowing the requirements or tax implications.

Similar gold card programs have faced backlash internationally. Spain ended its golden visa program after wealthy buyers drove housing price explosions. Other countries reversed course amid concerns about due diligence and the optics of selling citizenship.

While there’s been no notable legislative push for the gold card, not everyone in the administration is casting doubt on its future.

“Secretary Lutnick is determined to follow through on President Trump’s vision to create a Gold Card visa program that will raise unprecedented revenues for the United States,” Commerce Department spokesperson Kristen Eichamer said in a statement.

— Holden Walter-Warner