The White House has confirmed that only one person in the United States has had their Trump ‘Gold Card’ visa approved, with the reality falling short of previous claims.
In December, US President Donald Trump announced that anyone who wanted to gain a ‘direct path’ to American citizenship could fork out $1 million for a ‘green card on steroids’.
The six-figure pledge – alongside a non-refundable $15,000 processing fee – would be deemed as ‘evidence’ in the eyes of lawmakers that the person paying the cash would ‘substantially benefit the United States’.
It was announced that employees could also get their mitts on a Trump Gold Card, as long as the business they were being sponsored by was willing to cough up $2 million, along with additional fees.
The scheme’s website also states that a ‘platinum card’, which will cost $5m, is on the way.
Apparently only one person has been approved to get the Trump Gold Card (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
According to Trump, 79, particularly ‘high-level’ professionals were being chased to take part in the sceme, with the politician claiming he and other officials wanted people who were going to be ‘productive’
“The people that can pay $5m, they’re going to create jobs. It’s going to sell like crazy. It’s a bargain,” he claimed in February.
Following its announcement, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the government had sold $1.3 billion ‘worth’.
However, on Thursday (24 April), the 64-year-old admitted that only one person has been approved for the gilded ticket, as per NBC News.
“They have approved, recently, one person, and there are hundreds in the queue,” Lutnick said while testifying at a House subcommittee hearing.
“They’ve just set it up, and they wanted to make sure they did it perfectly.
“It’s a DHS program done with a rigorous, rigorous vetting.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said there were ‘hundreds’ on the application list (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
He added that the vetting process for gold card applicants is ‘the most serious … in the history of government’, CBS News reported.
The Trump Gold Card, which vows to give non-US citizens the ‘ability to spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to US taxes on non-US income, had seemingly been gifted to Nicki Minaj.
In January, the 43-year-old hitmaker shared an image of what appeared to be a Trump Gold Card on social media with the caption ‘Welp…’.
She also claimed in a separate social media post that she got a ‘Gold Trump card free of charge’ and that she was ‘finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak’.
Nicki Minaj was seemingly gifted a Trump Gold Card (X/@nickiminaj)
However, a spokesperson with the Department of Commerce reportedly told Snopes in a phone call that Minaj’s card was a ‘memento’.
The New York Times also reported in January that, according to a DHS official, the ‘Super Bass’ rapper has been a legal resident in the United States for over two decades, meaning she likely would not need to apply for a green card.
LADbible Group has previously reached out to to the White House for comment.