Washington– president Donald Trump He announced on Wednesday that his long-awaited promise “ Gold card It has officially gone on sale, providing legal status and an eventual path to U.S. citizenship to individuals who pay $1 million and companies that pay twice that amount for each foreign-born employee.
A website accepting applications was launched as Trump revealed the start of the program while surrounded by business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. They are meant to replace EB-5 visas, which Congress created in 1990 to generate foreign investment and were available to people who spend about $1 million on a business that employs at least 10 people.
Trump sees the new version as a way for the United States to attract and retain the best talent, all while generating revenue for the federal treasury. He has been promoting the Gold Card program for months, once suggesting that each card would cost $5 million, though he recently revised that to a $1 million and $2 million pricing system.
The president said all money obtained as part of the program “will go to the U.S. government” and expected billions to flow into an account managed by the Treasury Department “where we can do positive things for the country.”
The new program is actually a green card, which effectively offers permanent legal residency with a chance at citizenship.
“Basically, it’s a green card but much better,” Trump said. “Much stronger, way stronger.”
The president did not mention job creation requirements for applying companies or program caps, which exist under the current EB-5 program. Instead, he said he heard complaints from business leaders who couldn’t hire top graduates from American universities because they were from other countries and didn’t have leave to remain.
“You can’t hire people from the best colleges because you don’t know if you can keep them or not,” Trump said.
Trump has built his political career around clamping down on the US-Mexico border and championing tough immigration policies. His second administration spent the first 10 months launching it He pushes for mass deportation And comprehensive immigration crackdowns targeting cities, including Los Angeles and Charlotte.
But it is Drawn criticism A leading voice in his “Make America Great Again” movement for repeatedly suggesting that skilled immigrants should be allowed into the United States — something the Gold Card Program could facilitate.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the program would include $15,000 to screen applicants, and that the comprehensive background screening process “will make sure that these people are fully qualified to be in America.” He added that companies will be able to obtain multiple cards, but will be limited to one individual per card.
Lutnick also said that current green card holders make less money than the average American, and that Trump wants to change that.
“So, same visas, but now filled with the best people,” Lutnick said.
Investor visas are popular around the world, with dozens of countries offering versions of “golden visas” for wealthy individuals, including the UK, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy.
Trump said the program means the United States “will welcome a great person to our country because we believe these will be great people,” and he singled out top American university graduates from China, India and France as among those likely to receive gold cards.
“Companies will be very happy,” he added.