Trump’s ‘Gold Card’ Visa and the Price of American Citizenship

The San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, California.

US President Donald Trump is pitching a $5 million “golden ticket” visa, a gilded gateway to US residency and eventual citizenship for the ultra-wealthy. Unlike the EB-5 program it aims to replace, this visa demands no job creation, no ingenuity, no contribution— just sheer capital. The goal? Entice foreign billionaires and flood the U.S. economy with wealth.

The U.S. wouldn’t be the first to put a price tag on residency. Golden visas grant foreign investors citizenship or residency through real estate acquisitions or business ventures. Portugal’s program swamped its housing market with affluent buyers, driving up prices and pushing locals out. Malta went even further, auctioning off passports until the EU shut it down over corruption and security risks.

The reality? When a country commodifies residency, the bill always comes due. Billions could pour into real estate, luxury markets, and government coffers, fueling an economic surge without costing taxpayers a dime. Private banking, high-end retail, and elite hospitality would thrive, and the U.S. could cement itself as a playground for the world’s elite investors. But this isn’t just an economic transaction, it’s a redefinition of who gets to call America home.

Money doesn’t just build; it distorts. Foreign investors amassing property could send housing prices soaring, shutting middle-class Americans out of homeownership. Meanwhile, the dreamers, the builders, the innovators who drive progress could very well be overshadowed by those who simply buy their way in.

Money will cascade, fortunes will be minted, but at what price? If citizenship is just another high-ticket commodity, does the American Dream still exist, or has it been auctioned off to the highest bidder?

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