Trump ‘gold card’ program goes live: US visas available for $1M per person

By Will Weissert Associated Press WASHINGTON President Donald Trump broadcasted Wednesday that his long-promised gold card was officially going on sale offering legal status and an eventual pathway to U S citizenship for individuals paying million and corporations ponying up twice that per foreign-born employee A website accepting applications went live as Trump revealed the start of the plan while surrounded by business leaders in the White House s Roosevelt Room It is meant to replace EB- visas which Congress created in to generate foreign outlay and had been available to people who spend about million on a company that employs at least people RELATED H- B visa Canada launches another initiative to poach foreign talent from Silicon Valley Trump sees the new version as a way for the U S to attract and retain top talent all while generating revenue for federal coffers He s been promoting the gold card project for months and once suggested that each card would cost million though he more of late revised that to the million and million pricing scheme The president explained all funds taken in as part of the effort will go to the U S governing body and predicted that billions would flow into an account run by the Treasury Department where we can do things positive for the country The new project is truly a green card effectively offering permanent legal residency with the chance for citizenship Basically it s a green card but much better Trump noted Much more powerful a much stronger path Related Articles Truckers who fail English tests are pulled off roads in Trump crackdown Trump s crackdown on immigration is taking a toll on child care workers Judge orders Trump to end California National Guard troop deployment in Los Angeles European nations agree to consider weakening protections for transients dating back to WW About immigrant children were detained longer than the recommended limit ICE admits The president made no mention of requirements for job creation for applying corporations or on overall caps on the plan which exist under the current EB- project Instead he stated he d heard complaints from business leaders who had been unable to recruit outstanding graduates from U S universities because they were from other countries and lacked permission to stay You can t hire people from the best colleges because you don t know whether or not you can keep the person Trump explained Trump has built his political career around clamping down on the U S -Mexico limit and championing hard-line immigration policies His second administration spent its first -plus months launching mass deportation pushes and sweeping immigration crackdowns that have targeted cities including Los Angeles and Charlotte But he s also drawn criticism from leading voices of his Make America Great Again movement for repeatedly suggesting that skilled immigrants should be allowed into the U S something the gold card campaign could facilitate Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick noted the activity will include for applicant vetting and that the thorough process used to scrutinize backgrounds would make sure these people absolutely qualify to be in America Companies will be able to receive multiple cards but will be limited to one individual per card he mentioned Lutnick also explained the current green card holders earn less money than the average American and that Trump yearned to change that So same visas but now just full of the best people Lutnick disclosed Investors visas are common around the world with dozens of countries offering versions of golden visas to wealthy individuals including the United Kingdom Spain Greece Malta Australia Canada and Italy Trump mentioned the undertaking means the U S is getting somebody great coming into our country because we think these will be selected tremendous people and singled out top U S college graduates from China India and France as among those who will possibly be receiving gold cards The companies are going to be very happy he mentioned