In under 24 hours, more than 15,000 foreigners have signed up for the Trump ‘gold card” that offers applicants residency and a path to U.S. citizenship, President Donald Trump announced on June 12.

Trump touts the program as a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” though it comes with a required $5 million payment to the U.S. government. The president’s offering to wealthy foreigners comes at the same time the president is spearheading a controversial nationwide immigration crackdown and pushing Congress to pass a massive tax and policy bill amid concerns about ballooning budget deficits.
“More than fifteen thousand have signed up and joined the Waiting List since we opened the site last night! That’s $75 Billion Dollars to help balance our Budget, and strengthen America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 12. “The opportunity to live in the Greatest Country, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with the largest Economy in the World, is here.”
The fact that 15,000 people have signed up at trumpcard.gov does not automatically translate to $75 billion. The website only asks for basic information – it does not seek proof of financial wherewithal and involve any other form of vetting.

The opening up of the applications for the gold card comes less than 10 days after a controversial revival of a travel ban prohibiting legal entry of foreign nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Trump issued partial travel suspensions for foreign nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

US President Donald Trump holds the $5 million dollar Gold Card as he speaks to reporters while in flight on board Air Force One, en route to Miami, Florida on April 3, 2025. Trump is travelling to the Trump National Doral Golf Club before going to his Mar-a-Lago Resort.
The website shows an image of the gold-colored card, emblazoned with a likeness of Trump’s face, and asks a few questions including name, region, email address and if an applicant is applying for themselves or as a business. It also asks interested people to fill out a form that specifies where they are from among eight regions on the planet: Europe, Asia (including Middle East), North America, Oceania, Central America, South America, Caribbean and Africa.