The Trump administration opened applications this week for the Trump Gold Card, a fast-track investor residency program requiring a minimum $1 million contribution, shortly after proposing that tourists from visa-waiver countries provide their social media history from the past five years before entering US territory. The administration first announced the Gold Card in February.
President Trump announced the official launch on social media on Wednesday, writing that the card provides a “direct path to citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. So exciting! Our great American companies can finally keep their invaluable talent.”
According to Trump, proceeds from the Trump Card will go to “an account where we can do positive things for the country” and generate “many billions of dollars.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised the program on social media, saying qualified individuals and corporations will receive expedited EB-1 or EB-2 green cards following “rigorous vetting.”
EB-1 visas are for priority workers with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, or multinational executives, while EB-2 visas are for professionals with advanced degrees. Both represent top-tier employment-based categories, with EB-1 often processing faster; typically 15 days for premium processing.
Tiered Pricing Structure
The Department of Homeland Security began accepting Trump Gold Card applications on Wednesday. Individual applicants must pay $1 million plus a $15,000 processing fee, while corporations sponsoring employees pay $2 million per worker through the Trump Corporate Gold Card.
Companies utilizing the Trump Corporate Gold Card incur additional costs. A 1% annual maintenance fee of $20,000 applies to each sponsored employee, while firms transferring sponsorship from one worker to another pay a 5% transfer fee of $100,000 plus costs for new background checks.
The Trump Platinum Card, priced at $5 million, will permit holders to spend up to 270 days annually in the US without paying US taxes on non-US income. Applications are not yet available for this category.
The Trump Gold Card may directly compete with the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which Congress created in 1990. EB-5 requires foreigners to invest at least $1.05 million and create at least 10 jobs for Americans. The program granted nearly 15,000 visas last year, as per official stats.
The Trump Gold Card requires a donation rather than an investment, with no job creation requirement.
Rafael Cintron, CEO at Wealthy Expat, says the Gold Card faces stiff competition in the global investment migration market. “The US is no longer the best country to invest in,” he argues, adding that many options exist at this threshold or lower, and “global millionaires understand this well.”
A donation of such a high amount with the potential for changes after the next administration won’t appeal to most ultra-high-net-worth individuals, he predicts.
Social Media Screening For Visa-Waiver Travelers
On the same day that the administration announced the Trump Card, US Customs and Border Protection proposed that visitors from 40 nations, including EU countries, Australia, the UK, and Japan, provide five years of social media history when applying through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
Applicants would also submit email addresses from the past 10 years, telephone numbers from the past five years, and names and details of family members. They would upload selfies, which CBP says will improve screening processes and better identify whether a person rightfully possesses the documents they’re using.
The proposal would make social media disclosure a “mandatory data element” for ESTA applications. Approximately 25 million travelers use ESTA annually to visit the US for 90 days or less at a $40 fee.
America First?
Cintron suggests the timing of these two policies reflects deliberate coordination, likening it to “how Argentina is restricting citizenship by birth and regular naturalization” as it plans to launch “a highly selective citizenship by investment program.”
The US administration, he argues, wants only “highly vetted wealthy individuals” entering the US, not “tons of tourists who they don’t think contribute much.”
The US received 77 million international visitors in 2024, with projections climbing to over 82 million in 2025.
But since Trump’s election, the administration has implemented stricter immigration enforcement and expanded vetting requirements for legal entry, especially after a recent attack in Washington, D.C., following which Trump vowed to ban entry from “all third-world countries.”
In May, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) projected that international visitor spending in the US would fall to under $169 billion this year, down from $181 billion in 2024; a $12.5 billion loss.
That would make the US the only country among the 184 economies WTTC and Oxford Economics analyzed that they forecast will see international visitor spending decline in 2025.
Cintron says that the US is signaling to the EU, the UK, and other allies that it “doesn’t care anymore” and will prioritize American interests over any existing agreements, “including visa-free travel.”
He says the social media requirements are likely to deter tourists due to “privacy and free-speech concerns.” And while it may align with the “America First” mandate, Cintron thinks it could inadvertently “isolate the US” from its partners.
The Customs and Border Protection proposal remains subject to revision following the 60-day public comment period.
