With legal fights on the way, those writing seven-figure checks shouldn’t assume their cards are coming soon.
What’s wrong with the White House selling “Trump Gold Cards†to foreigners seeking legal status and a pathway to citizenship?
Other than the likelihood of corruption, the political mess, and questions about legality, you know, the usual stuff. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-12-11T14:04:42.434Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-gold-card-goes-on-sale-offering-visas-for-1-million-sparking-controversy
About a month into his second term,
Donald Trump unveiled plans for a visa program — at the time, it was billed as the president’s “gold cards” — which he said would be similar to green cards “but at a higher level of sophistication.” He added that the point was to allow “very high-level people” to enjoy a new route to American citizenship by giving the government $5 million.
Almost a year later, these cards are now officially available — at a discount. The Associated Press reported:
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his long-promised ‘gold card’ was officially going on sale, offering legal status and an eventual pathway to U.S. citizenship for individuals paying $1 million and corporations ponying up twice that per foreign-born employee.
A website accepting applications went live as Trump revealed the start of the program while surrounded by business leaders in the White House’s Roosevelt Room.
The broader societal contrast is tough to miss: In an era in which masked federal officials are terrorizing immigrant communities and launching aggressive raids on those they believe might be undocumented, Trump is simultaneously offering a pathway to citizenship to foreign millionaires and billionaires.....
But hanging overhead is a different kind of question:
Is this legal?
A Washington Post report published in July noted, “Trump and his aides have repeatedly exaggerated the likelihood that such a program can be implemented under current law, and they have made no effort to introduce legislation to make it happen. Immigration attorneys and other legal experts say a president has no power to unilaterally create a new visa category, which would require an act of Congress.”
On Wednesday afternoon, as the cards ostensibly went on sale, the president published an item to his social media platform that described the developments as “SO EXCITING!” But with legal fights on the way, anyone writing seven-figure checks should not assume that their card is coming anytime soon.
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