Donnie Politics Finds Backdoor in Immigration Law… Immediately Sets Up a $1M Tollbooth With a Gavel

White House immigration lawyers, quietly, to themselves: “Ok… but please don’t make it sound like we’re auctioning off citizenship on eBay.”

White House, immediately afterward: “Citizenship. Starting at $1 million. No lowballers. I know what I have.”

If you end up getting targeted for FB ads about becoming a US citizen for the a small loan price of a million dollars… even though you’re already a US citizen, well, now you know why.

(Source: NPR)

Last week, President Donald Trump rolled out applications for the Trump Gold Card… a new immigration shortcut where foreign nationals can snag full-time U.S. residency in “record time” by coughing up $1 million, plus a $15,000 processing fee (because freedom isn’t free… but it is itemized).

There’s also a Corporate Gold Card (only $2 million, what a deal) and whispers of a Platinum Card that could run as high as $5 million, complete with special tax perks. TSA PreCheck for billionaires, basically.

Now, with that said, there’s a small problem… actually a pretty big one: Presidents can’t just invent visa programs. That’s Congress’ thing. So to create a loophole, Donnie Politics stapled the Gold Card onto two existing immigration pathways (EB-1 and EB-2) which were originally designed for, you know… actual talent.

(Source: CNBC)

EB-1 is the so-called Einstein Visa, reserved for people with “extraordinary ability.” Think award-winning scientists, elite researchers, artists, professors, athletes. EB-2 is for professionals whose work solves national problems… cancer researchers, energy experts, infrastructure brains.

The Gold Card flips that entire premise on its head by advancing a much simpler theory: wealth equals skill.

According to administration officials, anyone who can part with a million bucks must be a “successful businessperson” and therefore a net win for the U.S. economy.

Immigration attorneys, meanwhile, are staring at this thing like it just tried to pay rent with Monopoly money.

Their issue is that having money alone doesn’t mean you’re extraordinary. Some applicants might’ve inherited it. Others could’ve borrowed it. A few might just be rich and aggressively mediocre. Or worse, people whose resume stops at “has cash” and prefers not to explain why.

Meanwhile, real EB-1 and EB-2 applicants (the ones actually curing diseases or building AI systems for doctors) are already stuck in multi-year backlogs. One attorney cited an Indian AI expert approved for EB-1 who’s still waiting years for a green card… while someone else could theoretically cut the line with a wire transfer and a wink.

And that’s where the legal landmines start.

Those programs are capped at roughly 28,000 visas per year, with strict country limits. India and China already have massive waitlists. If Gold Card applicants get priority? Expect lawsuits. If they don’t? Who’s paying $1 million to wait three years anyway? (I think you know the answer).

Then there’s the structure itself, which only adds to the confusion. Unlike other countries’ investor visas that involve actual investments, this $1 million looks non-refundable, meaning there’s no escrow clarity, no real guarantee, and no comforting “sorry if a court shreds this later” refund policy hiding in the fine print.

Add in strict proof-of-funds requirements to screen for money laundering, and suddenly a lot of interested wealthy foreigners are pumping the brakes. Some can’t document the source cleanly. Others are worried a future administration or court just deletes the program entirely. Translation: Great pitch. Still waiting for the fine print.

So for now, the Gold Card exists in a strange limbo… legally gray, politically loud, and structurally half-baked. Billionaires are interested… but they’re not lining up just yet. Turns out even the ultra-rich don’t love paying seven figures for something that might get rug-pulled by a judge.

Still, credit where it’s due: the U.S. just updated “extraordinary ability” to mean “has a spare million lying around.”

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