{"id":884477,"date":"2026-01-12T07:22:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T13:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/12\/the-trump-gold-card-briefly-explained\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T07:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T13:22:26","slug":"the-trump-gold-card-briefly-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/12\/the-trump-gold-card-briefly-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cTrump Gold Card,\u201d briefly explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This story appeared in The Logoff<\/a>, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Welcome to The Logoff:<\/strong> Donald Trump is continuing to remodel America\u2019s immigration system with the launch of a $1 million visa.<\/p>\n

What happened?<\/strong> On Wednesday, Trump announced the launch of the \u201cTrump Gold Card,\u201d a new category of expedited visa that includes a $1 million fee, or \u201cgift,\u201d as \u201cevidence that the individual will substantially benefit the United States.\u201d The new program also includes a \u201cCorporate Gold Card\u201d with a $2 million fee, and a not-yet-available \u201cPlatinum Card\u201d for $5 million.<\/p>\n

Recipients of the \u201cGold Card\u201d will receive permanent resident status in the US, also known as a green card.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the context?<\/strong> Trump previewed it as early as February, at the time suggesting the cost might be $5 million. The \u201cGold Card\u201d also isn\u2019t the only way Trump is attempting to monetize the American immigration system; in September, he attached a $100,000 fee to new H-1B visas<\/a> for skilled workers.<\/p>\n

Where did this idea come from?<\/strong> Setting a price tag on a visa isn\u2019t exactly new, in the US or elsewhere, but the \u201cgift\u201d requirement with Trump\u2019s \u201cGold Card\u201d is unusually direct. Similar visa categories, such as so-called golden visas in some European countries, often require some form of investment in those countries, such as property ownership or even charitable giving.<\/p>\n

Such programs also come with serious corruption concerns: For example, Trump has already expressed openness to granting \u201cGold Cards\u201d to Russian oligarchs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Where does the money go?<\/strong> That part is still unclear; the \u201cgift\u201d of $1 million, $2 million, or $5 million will go directly to the US government, into what Trump described Wednesday as \u201can account where we can do things positive for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the big picture?<\/strong> \u201cGold Cards\u201d essentially add a pay-to-play lane to the US immigration system, opening the door for people with millions of dollars lying around \u2014 even as Trump tries to slam it shut<\/a> for asylum-seekers and immigrants from non-white countries.<\/p>\n

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The Logoff<\/h2>\n

The email you need to stay informed about Trump \u2014 without letting the news take over your life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n

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And with that, it\u2019s time to log off\u2026<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I enjoyed this New York Times story<\/a> about the slaty-masked tinamou, a friendly, vocal new species of bird recently discovered in the mountains of western Brazil; one biologist described it to the Times as \u201can opera singer\u201d with \u201ca voice like no other.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an entirely upbeat piece \u2014 scientists worry that the bird\u2019s lack of fear could put it in company with the now-extinct dodo \u2014 but the good news is that efforts are already underway to protect it. You can read the full story here<\/a> (it\u2019s a gift link). Have a great evening, and we\u2019ll see you back here tomorrow!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here . Welcome to The Logoff: Donald Trump is continuing to remodel America\u2019s immigration system with the launch of a $1 million visa. What happened? On Wednesday, Trump<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":884478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30711,4],"tags":[6045,5052],"class_list":["post-884477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-briefly","category-trump","tag-briefly","tag-trump"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}