President Trump proposed a new 'gold card' citizenship program, priced at $5 million, to attract wealthy immigrants and highly skilled workers. This card would enhance the existing EB-5 visa system, which offers a pathway to U.S. citizenship through investment. Currently, the EB-5 program requires significant investment in businesses, but has been criticized for inefficiencies and fraud. Trump anticipates that companies could also buy cards to sponsor skilled employees. This proposal marks a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy, aiming to capitalize on wealthy individuals wanting to settle in America.
Trump is talking about changes to America's current citizenship-for-sale scheme, the EB-5 visa. That visa requires a foreigner to create a new business through investment that creates or sustains at least 10 American jobs, or buy an existing business resulting in at least a 40 percent increase in the net worth or number of employees.
Highly skilled people can also get in on the deal if they can find a sponsor. "Companies can buy gold cards and, in exchange, get those visas to hire new employees," Trump said.
The problem is that the scheme has not worked as well as it should have. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik stated that the program is rife with "nonsense, make-believe, and fraud."
We're going to be selling a gold card," Trump said from the Cabinet Room recently. "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.
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