Trump’s Gold Card: Selling the American Dream to the Highest Bidder
President Donald Trump has officially turned U.S. immigration into a marketplace with the launch of the Trump Gold Card, a program that effectively puts a price tag on American residency. Signed into law on September 19, 2025, the initiative allows the wealthy to buy their way into the United States, while millions of skilled workers and middle-class immigrants face harsher restrictions than ever before.
The Gold Card requires individuals to hand over a staggering $1 million “gift” to the Department of Commerce in exchange for a fast-track to permanent residency. Corporations can sponsor foreign talent by paying $2 million, essentially turning U.S. visas into a corporate perk for elites. On top of this, Trump unveiled the Platinum Card, which demands a $5 million gift but grants even greater privileges, including up to 270 days of U.S. residency per year without being taxed on foreign income.
This announcement comes on the heels of Trump’s devastating $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visas, a move that has been widely condemned by the tech industry and immigration advocates. For decades, H-1B visas have been a critical pathway for skilled workers, especially from India, to bring their talents to American companies. Now, with the astronomical new fee, those doors are effectively slammed shut. The message is clear: the U.S. no longer wants talent, only money.
Critics have blasted the Gold Card as a “pay-to-play” scheme that widens inequality and undermines the very principles of the American Dream. It gives billionaires and corporations a golden ticket to citizenship while leaving hardworking immigrants — many of whom have waited years in backlogged visa lines — with no options. Legal experts are also questioning whether the president even has the constitutional authority to sell residency rights without congressional approval, predicting a wave of lawsuits.
While Trump touts the program as a way to boost the economy and “attract the best,” the reality is far darker. This policy does nothing to fix the broken immigration system or address labor shortages in key industries. Instead, it funnels power and privilege to the ultra-rich while shutting out the very people who helped build America’s innovation economy.
The Gold Card marks a dangerous shift: U.S. citizenship is no longer earned — it’s bought. As ordinary immigrants struggle with impossible costs and barriers, America risks becoming a gated community for the global elite, where wealth, not merit, determines who gets to call the country home.