President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he intends to begin selling a gold card visa with a potential pathway to US citizenship for $5 million, with the goal of replacing a 35-year-old investor visa program.
If we sell a million, that's $5 trillion, Trump said at the first meeting of his second-term Cabinet, implying that the new revenue generated for federal coffers could be used to pay down the country's debt.
I believe we will sell a lot because there is a strong desire from the business community to participate, Trump said.
The president stated that recipients will be wealthy and successful, spending a lot of money, paying a lot of taxes, and employing a lot of people, and we believe this will be extremely successful.
Trump said that companies can buy gold cards in exchange for visas to hire new employees.
No other country can do this because people do not want to travel to other countries. "They want to come here," Trump explained.
Everybody wants to come here, especially since November 5," he said, referring to his election victory last fall.
During the same meeting, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that Trump's initiative would replace the EB-5 program, which provides US visas to investors who spend $1 million or more on a company that employs at least ten people.
According to Lutnick, the programme for project investment has been in place for many years, but it has been poorly overseen and executed.
The commerce secretary added that the gold card, which would function more like a green card or permanent legal residency, would raise the cost of admission for investors while eliminating the fraud and nonsense that he claimed characterised the EB-5 program. A path to citizenship as part of the new programme distinguishes it from the EB-5 program.
Trump stated that the process of vetting people who may be eligible for the gold card is still being finalized.
When asked if there would be any restrictions on people from China or Iran not being allowed to participate, Trump suggested that it would most likely be limited to individuals rather than countries.
According to the most recent Yearbook of Immigration Statistics from the Homeland Security Department, approximately 8,000 people received investor visas during the 12-month period ending September 30, 2022. In 2021, the Congressional Research Service reported that EB-5 visas pose fraud risks, including verification that funds were obtained legally.
Investor visas are common throughout the world. According to Henley & Partners, an advisory firm, over 100 countries worldwide offer golden visas to wealthy individuals, including the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada, and Italy.
Trump made no mention of the criteria for job creation. And, while the number of EB-5 visas is limited, the Republican president suggested that the federal government sell 10 million gold cards to reduce the deficit. He said it could be great, maybe even fantastic.
"It's similar to a green card, but more sophisticated," the president explained. It is a path to citizenship for people, primarily people of wealth or great talent, in which people of wealth pay for those of talent to enter, implying that companies will pay for people to enter and maintain long-term status in the country.
Congress determines citizenship qualifications, but Trump has stated that gold cards will not require congressional approval.
