More and more wealthy people may turn to President Donald Trump’s proposed $5 million Gold Card visa program as birthright citizenship is under threat, a new report claims.
Trump issued an executive order earlier this year seeking to end birthright citizenship, which is safeguarded by the U.S. Constitution, for parents who are in the U.S. illegally. A U.S. District Judge has since blocked the order, but the Supreme Court could still hear another case on the issue.
Ali Jahangiri, head of the EB5 Lending Alliance, told Newsweek the interest in Gold Cards and EB-5 visas — which can grant permanent residence to certain foreign investors — could skyrocket if birthright citizenship is restricted or removed.
“Removing or restricting birthright citizenship would close a loophole used by many foreign nationals and shift demand toward investment-based and merit-based immigration pathways like EB-5 and Gold Cards, which provide more secure, legal, and long-term immigration solutions for wealthy families looking to secure a future for their children in the U.S,” Jahangiri said.
The Gold Card costs $5 million, while the EB-5 program grants green cards to foreign nationals who invest a minimum of $800,000 in a U.S. business that creates at least 10 jobs. It also offers a direct path to permanent residency for the investor, their spouse and any children under 21.
The Gold Card program could grant families who “would have considered birth tourism” another path to legal residency and citizenship, Jahangiri said. “Birth tourism” refers to the act of traveling to a country to give birth in order to secure U.S. citizenship for the child.
The administration launched the Gold Card website in June. The site allows users to enter their contact information so they can be “notified the moment access opens.” Trump first proposed the idea in February, then touted it again in April as economists warned about the economic impacts of his sweeping tariffs.
About 700,000 people were on the waiting list as of last month, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the Financial Times. In March, Lutnick told the All In podcast the administration had sold 1,000 Gold Cards, adding that Trump had estimated that they could sell one million cards in total.
The Independent has contacted the White House and Commerce Department for comment on the status of the Gold Card program.
Lutnick said the revenue from the cards will help pay down the $36 trillion national debt.
Some experts told The Washington Post earlier this month that the program is unlikely to take off, noting legal challenges are likely and Congressional approval could be a barrier.
In response, Commerce Department spokesperson Kristen Eichamer told the Post that 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.”
“There does not appear to be broad or coordinated support within Congress for the program, even among Republicans, due to concerns relating to the viability of the program and its optics,” Morgan Bailey, a former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek.
The Gold Card is also already appearing on the application for Global Entry, a program operated by Customs and Border Protection that allows pre-approved U.S. citizens, green card holders and travelers from some countries to enter a fast lane at the airport.
Those who apply for Global Entry using a foreign passport are currently given an option to say that they have “submitted an application for a Trump Card Visa,” Wired reported in May.
