US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the introduction of the Gold Card scheme which will provide rich and wealthy immigrants a chance to easily gain American citizenship by paying a fee of USD 5 million.

“We’re going to be selling a gold card,” Trump was quoted as saying by CNN.

“You have a green card. This is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and that’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card," Trump, who returned to power for a second term last year by winning the high-voltage polls, said.

Trump said the sale of such cards will begin in nearly two weeks.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the new card will replace the government’s EB-5 immigrant investor visa program.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services runs the EB-5 Programme of the US government.

Under this program, investors (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence (become a Green Card holder) if they:

Make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States; and
Plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.

When was EB-5 Program created?

Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors, read the UCIS website.

 In 1992, Congress created the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as the Regional Center Program, which sets aside EB-5 visas for participants who invest in commercial enterprises associated with regional centers approved by USCIS based on proposals for promoting economic growth, the website further said.