Trump proposes $5 million ‘Gold Card’ for wealthy immigrants
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New York: Former US President Donald Trump has announced plans for an immigration Gold Card that companies can purchase for $5 million to secure highly talented employees, offering an alternative to work visas and green cards.
Speaking in Washington on Tuesday, Trump emphasized that while the programme is designed to help businesses retain top-tier talent, it is also primarily aimed at wealthy individuals who can buy the card for themselves.
"Apple and all these companies will be able to buy a card for the people who are Number 1 in their class at top schools and whom they want to employ," he said, referring to graduates from prestigious institutions like the Wharton School of Finance, Harvard, and Stanford. Under the current system, he noted, talented graduates often face visa uncertainties and delays, making it difficult for them to stay and work in the US.
The Gold Card would offer green card privileges and a pathway to citizenship, addressing issues such as the H-1B work visa lottery system, which sometimes prevents highly skilled professionals from securing work authorization, and the decades-long green card backlog that particularly affects Indian applicants.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the Gold Card would replace the EB-5 visa programme, which currently grants immigration benefits to those who invest between $800,000 and $1.05 million to create jobs in designated areas.
Trump clarified that the Gold Visa would cater to "people with money and people that create jobs." Lutnick added, "We're going to make sure they're wonderful world-class global citizens."
The former president also pitched the programme as a potential revenue generator for the US government, suggesting it could help reduce the national deficit.
"A million cards would be worth $5 trillion, and if you sell ten million of the cards, that's a total of $50 trillion," he said. "We have $35 trillion in debt, so that'd be nice."
Trump indicated that the Gold Visa programme could be unveiled within two weeks, stating that it would not require Congressional approval since it would function similarly to green card allocations. However, existing green card limits set by Congress could pose challenges to its implementation.
He also hinted at eliminating certain existing immigration programmes, such as the green card lottery, which grants permanent residency through a random selection process for applicants from underrepresented countries.
"Why do we give out lotteries of green cards?" Lutnick questioned. "We shouldn't give them away," Trump responded.
Meanwhile, the EB-5 programme is set to expire in 2027, following a five-year extension granted by Congress in 2022. Lutnick criticized the programme, calling it a “low-price programme” full of fraud and inefficiencies.
With IANS inputs