Want US residency in record time? It will cost $1m under a new Trump plan

Dubai: The Trump administration has launched the Trump Gold Card, a new investor residency program that fast-tracks US green cards for those who contribute a minimum of $1 million. The launch comes shortly after officials proposed broader scrutiny of foreign travellers’ social media histories before entering the country.

President Donald Trump, announcing the card’s debut on social media, called it a “direct path to citizenship for all qualified and vetted people.” He added, “Our great American companies can finally keep their invaluable talent.”

The Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications this week. Individual applicants must pay $1 million plus a $15,000 processing fee, while companies sponsoring workers under the Trump Corporate Gold Card must pay $2 million per employee. Applicants will undergo DHS vetting before receiving residency in what the website calls “record time.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said qualified investors and employers will qualify for expedited EB-1 or EB-2 permanent residency after “rigorous vetting.” EB-1 and EB-2 visas are reserved for priority workers, professionals with advanced degrees, and multinational executives.

“The proceeds will go to an account where we can do positive things for the country and generate many billions of dollars,” Trump said.

A tiered structure for wealthy investors

The Gold Card is the first of three planned offerings. The Trump Platinum Card, priced at $5 million, allows holders to spend up to 270 days in the US each year without paying tax on non-US income. Corporate sponsors must also pay a 1% annual maintenance fee, capped at $20,000 per employee, and a 5% transfer fee when replacing an existing sponsored worker.

Applicants can include spouses and dependent children under 21 for an additional $1 million per person, plus processing fees. A family of four, by that measure, would pay roughly $4.6 million for residency rights.

The Trump administration says the card system requires no legislative approval, unlike traditional visa programs. “We are not providing citizenship,” Trump said earlier this year, “only a path to citizenship.”

Competing with EB-5 but with key differences

The Trump Gold Card appears to compete directly with the long-standing EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which has been in place since 1990. EB-5 applicants invest between $800,000 and $1.05 million in US projects that create at least ten American jobs. Participants can recover that investment once the project matures.

Unlike EB-5, the Gold Card operates on a donation model rather than an investment structure, with no job-creation requirement.

Social media checks for visa-waiver travellers

Coinciding with the Gold Card’s debut, US Customs and Border Protection proposed a rule requiring visitors from 40 visa-waiver nations, including the EU, UK, Australia, and Japan,  to provide five years of social media history when applying through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Those travellers would also have to disclose email addresses, phone numbers, and family details from the past decade.

The proposal, which would make digital disclosure a mandatory data element, affects roughly 25 million travellers annually and is part of Trump’s broader focus on national security and digital transparency.

Since returning to the office, Trump has tied immigration access directly to economic contribution and loyalty. The new Gold Card program merges those aims, limiting low-cost migration while attracting the wealthy.

Critics argue the initiative could reinforce perceptions of US exclusivity at a time when global visitor spending is already falling. The World Travel & Tourism Council projects that inbound international spending will drop to $169 billion in 2025, down $12.5 billion from last year, making the US the only major economy expected to decline.