President Donald Trump’s$5 million “Gold Card” visa program took another step forward this week. The administration launched a government website for the scheme. But immigration experts warn the program remains years away from reality.
Trump announced on June 12, 2025, that “the waiting list is now open” for his signature immigration program. He directed followers to the new trumpcard.gov website. The site lets wealthy foreigners register interest in what Trump now calls “The Trump Card.” It promises permanent U.S. residency and citizenship for those willing to pay the hefty price.
However, the website launch has raised red flags among immigration professionals. They question its legitimacy after examining its contents.
A Website That Raises Serious Questions
Nuri Katz founded Apex Capital Partners. He has 34 years of experience in investment immigration. Katz didn’t hold back when describing the new website to Forbes. “This is a joke,” he said. He called it “lazy” and “amateurish.” Katz said the site “feels like it was created in five minutes by a teenager in his bedroom.”
The problems start with the web address itself. Immigration applications typically go through U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). Legitimate government websites begin with “uscis.gov.” The trumpcard.gov domain carries official government seals. But it directs users to a generic Department of Commerce email address. This is not what you’d expect from immigration authorities.
The website shows the presidential seal. It also displays seals from the Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security. Forbes reached out to DHS for clarification about their involvement. Officials simply redirected questions to the Commerce Department email listed on the site.
“Normally, there would be a disclaimer about data usage,” Katz explained. Legitimate government sites clearly state how they use and protect personal information. The Trump Card website lacks such basic privacy protections. This makes it “feel like a commercial enterprise” rather than an official government portal.
Problems With the Application Process
The intake form on trumpcard.gov contains several concerning elements. Users can identify themselves as either “an individual” or “a business” when expressing interest. But as Katz points out, “companies can’t apply for a green card.”
Another red flag is the form’s request for the applicant’s “region” rather than specific country. This approach seems designed to “gauge interest” rather than conduct serious immigration processing. This is especially odd considering Trump’s travel ban affecting more than a dozen countries.
Julia Gelatt works as associate director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute. She told Forbes she has been “confused from the start about how the Gold Card is meant to work.” She said it doesn’t fit into existing immigration laws. The new website, she said, represents “a continuation of strangeness.”
Legal Problems That Can’t Be Solved
Despite the website launch, the fundamental legal challenges remain unchanged. The Trump administration suggests the program will replace the existing EB-5 immigrant investor visa through executive action. But legal experts unanimously agree this approach won’t work.
“A President can’t create a visa. That’s for Congress to do,” said Lori Nessel. She’s a professor at Seton Hall University’s School of Law. She explained this to Time magazine. Congress established the EB-5 program in 1990. It was recently updated through the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. This law authorizes the program through September 2027.
“The executive branch doesn’t have the authority to create a new visa without Congress,” Gelatt emphasized. Any attempt to bypass congressional approval would likely face immediate legal challenges. Courts would probably issue injunctions.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association has also weighed in. They state that only Congress can create or eliminate visa categories established by law. This means Trump would need to convince both chambers of Congress to pass new legislation. This is a significant political hurdle given the program’s controversial nature.
The Numbers Don’t Work
Beyond legal obstacles, the Gold Card program faces practical challenges. These cast doubt on whether it could ever work. Trump has made big claims about the program’s revenue potential. He suggests the U.S. could “sell maybe a million of these cards, maybe more than that.” He calculated that 1 million cards would generate$5 trillion. He said 10 million could bring in$50 trillion. This would be enough to eliminate the national debt.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has offered more modest projections. He suggests 200,000 cards could generate$1 trillion. However, even these scaled-back numbers appear unrealistic. They don’t match global wealth distribution.
Katz draws on his decades of experience with ultra-wealthy clients. He notes that wealthy individuals rarely spend more than 10% of their net worth on immigration programs. “So you’ve got to be worth$50 million to$100 million to afford this,” he explained.
According to Henley & Partners, there are fewer than 30,000 centimillionaires worldwide. These are people worth$100 million or more. More than one-third are already American citizens. Even expanding the target to include those worth at least$50 million yields only about 80,000 potential candidates globally. This falls far short of the numbers needed to meet the administration’s revenue projections.
What Other Countries Have Learned
The Trump Gold Card isn’t the first attempt at a high-value investor visa program. Similar schemes in other countries have faced significant challenges and criticism. Spain’s investor visa program required property purchases. It was eventually shut down due to concerns about making housing unaffordable for locals.
Other countries have closed their investor visa programs due to money laundering and tax evasion concerns. Malta’s citizenship-by-investment program faced scrutiny from the European Union. Several Caribbean nations have had to strengthen their background check processes. This came after criticism about inadequate vetting.
Henley & Partners is a leading authority on residence and citizenship by investment programs. They told Forbes that “the pool of global ultra-high-net-worth individuals able and willing to contribute$5 million outright is relatively small.” This is especially true “when compared to residence by investment alternatives that are investment-based rather than donation-based.”
The Current EB-5 Program Keeps Running
While Trump promotes his Gold Card as a replacement for the EB-5 program, the existing system continues to operate normally. “There is zero indication that the EB-5 program has been touched in any way,” Katz confirmed.
The EB-5 program, despite its flaws, has established safeguards and oversight mechanisms. It requires investors to create at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers. It involves detailed background checks and verification of money sources. The program raised approximately$4 billion for the U.S. economy last year.
In contrast, the proposed Gold Card would eliminate job creation requirements. It would streamline the process. These changes could make it more attractive to investors. But they might make it less beneficial to the American economy and workforce.
What This Means for Immigration Policy
The Gold Card program highlights the Trump administration’s approach to immigration policy. Critics say it creates a two-tiered system based on wealth. As Professor Nessel observed, the message is clear. “We are going to deport everyone in this country who’s here without permission. We are going to close down our borders. And then, at the same time, we’re going to dramatically increase the number of people that can come in—if they’ve got millions of dollars.”
This approach has drawn criticism from both political parties. Representative Ro Khanna (D-California) argued for a merit-based immigration system focused on skilled workers. Representative Jake Auchincloss (D-Massachusetts) called Trump’s plan “corrupt and counterproductive.”
The program also raises questions about national security and foreign influence. When asked whether Russian oligarchs could apply, Trump responded, “Possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs who are very nice people.” This comment has concerned security experts given ongoing tensions with Russia.
What Needs to Happen Next
Despite the website launch, significant work remains before the Gold Card program could become operational. The administration would need to:
Legal Requirements
- Obtain congressional authorization for the new visa category
- Develop comprehensive regulations and oversight mechanisms
- Establish vetting procedures and anti-fraud measures
Administrative Setup
- Create processing systems and administrative infrastructure
- Address legal challenges that are certain to arise
- Train staff and establish procedures
Immigration experts believe this process could take years. That’s assuming it’s even legally possible. “Having a website and being able to process applications is potentially years away from each other,” Katz explained.
Gelatt suspects the website launch may be more about political messaging than actual implementation. “I think if somebody is interested in pursuing a Gold Card, they could just wait and see,” she advised. “There’s no reason why they would need to enter their information now. It seems like an unusual information gathering attempt.”
Warnings About Data Collection
Perhaps most concerning to immigration professionals is what they see as a potential data harvesting operation. “The scariest thing is it just seems like an attempt by the government to bamboozle people,” Katz warned. He thinks they want “to build up a database of rich people.”
The website’s lack of privacy protections and unclear data usage policies support these concerns. Unlike legitimate government immigration websites, trumpcard.gov doesn’t explain how personal information will be used, stored, or protected.
For wealthy individuals considering registering their interest, experts recommend extreme caution. The program’s legal status remains uncertain. There’s no guarantee that information submitted through the website will be handled appropriately. There’s also no guarantee the program will ever become operational.
The Reality Check
The Trump Gold Card represents an ambitious attempt to reshape American immigration policy. It focuses on wealth rather than traditional criteria like family ties, employment needs, or humanitarian concerns. However, the gap between political promises and legal reality appears substantial.
While the website launch generates headlines, it allows the administration to claim progress. But the fundamental challenges remain unchanged. Without congressional approval, comprehensive regulations, and robust oversight mechanisms, the Gold Card program is likely to remain more aspiration than reality.
For now, wealthy foreigners seeking U.S. residency would be better served by exploring established pathways. The EB-5 program, despite its flaws, offers a legally sound and operational route to American permanent residency.
What Experts Are Saying
Immigration professionals across the board express skepticism about the program’s viability. They point to several key issues:
Timeline Concerns
Most experts believe the program is years away from implementation, if it ever happens. The legal hurdles alone could take years to resolve through the courts.
Market Reality
The target market of ultra-wealthy individuals is much smaller than the administration’s projections suggest. This makes the revenue goals unrealistic.
Legal Authority
The consensus among legal experts is that congressional approval is required. Executive action alone cannot create new visa categories.
The Bottom Line
The Trump Gold Card saga serves as a reminder that in immigration law, the devil is in the details. Those details are often far more complex than a simple website can address.
As this story continues to develop, one thing remains clear. Despite the new website and grand promises, the Trump Gold Card scheme is still years away from launch. That’s if it ever launches at all.
The website may be live, but the program itself remains largely theoretical. For wealthy individuals seeking U.S. residency, established programs like EB-5 remain the more practical option. They offer legal certainty and operational systems that the Gold Card currently lacks.
The launch of trumpcard.gov represents more of a political statement than a functional immigration program. Until Congress acts and comprehensive regulations are developed, the Trump Gold Card will remain what experts call it: more promise than reality.
