The Trump $5M US ‘gold card’ visa scheme could pay off the national debt

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump publicized a plan to sell “gold cards” for $5 million each, granting wealthy foreigners permanent residency and an “easier” pathway to US citizenship. Europac chair Peter Schiff sees the idea as a way to pay the national debt.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the initiative would attract high-net-worth individuals who would contribute to the American economy through spending, taxation, and job creation.

“Wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card,” Trump stated. “They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people.”

In a February 25 X post, Schiff said the proceeds from selling the gold visas would cover America’s $36.22 trillion debt. “If a US passport is really worth $5 million, Trump only needs to sell about 7 million of them to pay off the National Debt.” 

President Trump: Gold cards will help wealthy investors get US citizenship

Trump told reporters he plans to replace the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program with the newly proposed “gold card” system. The EB-5 initiative grants permanent residency to foreign investors whose funds create or preserve US-based jobs and has been in place since 1990.

“It’s going to give you green card privileges plus its going to be a route to (American) citizenship, and wealthy people would be coming into our country by buying this card,” Trump remarked, adding that in two weeks, more details about the gold visas will be released.

Flanking the president in the Oval Office, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick bashed the existing scheme, coining it as “full of nonsense, make-believe, and fraud” and just “a way to get a green card that was low price.” 

He also said the Trump administration’s new initiative would ensure only the wealthiest applicants receive US residency. “They’ll have to go through vetting, of course,” Lutnick surmised. 

The White House did not disclose any criteria for how individuals would become eligible for the “gold card” visa. When asked if Russian oligarchs would qualify, Trump responded, “Yeah, possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.”

Peter Schiff proposes citizens to sell their passports

Gold advocate Peter Schiff, an outspoken naysayer of government spending, proposed an alternative plan where American citizens could sell their passports to the highest bidder. 

“How about if we cut out the middleman and just let any American who wants to expatriate sell their passport for $5 million? That might kill two birds with one stone.” he wrote on X. 

Schiff propounded that many Americans would take the offer to leave the US for a lower price and that such a system would be a “winning trade” because the “country would be better off without them.”

“Let people sell to the highest bidder. It will be a winning trade.”

One X user countered the SchiffGold LLC founder’s proposal, saying the government would not allow citizens to profit directly from selling their citizenship, to which Schiff replied: 

“The citizen would be selling his own passport, so there is no net gain in citizens. It would end up being a good trade. Plus, many Americans would go from welfare to millionaire. A win-win.”

Another commenter dismissed Schiff’s idea, pointing out that only about 3 million people worldwide have a net worth of $5 million or more, many of whom are already US citizens. The limited number of wealthy individuals without American citizenship would mean the program could come short of generating enough revenue to reduce the national debt significantly.

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