Trump Unveils $1 Million 'Gold Card' Visa Program For US Residency

Donald Trump officially signed an executive order establishing a 'Gold Card' visa program on Friday, setting fees at USD 1 million for individuals and USD 2 million for businesses.

"We believe this will be incredibly successful... It's projected to generate billions of dollars, which will help reduce taxes, eliminate debt, and accomplish other beneficial initiatives," Trump stated during the executive order signing ceremony.

United States Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, explained that the gold card initiative will exclusively permit "extraordinary individuals at the highest level" to enter the US who can establish businesses and create employment opportunities for Americans.

Lutnick criticized the existing employment-based green card program as "illogical," pointing out that under this system, the country was admitting people from the "bottom quartile" who earned only USD 66,000 annually.

"Historically, the employment-based green card program admitted 281,000 individuals yearly. These people averaged earnings of $66,000 annually and were five times more likely to utilize government assistance programs. We were essentially accepting people from the bottom quartile, below the average American income level. This approach was illogical. We were the only nation worldwide accepting immigrants from the bottom quartile," Lutnick explained.

"We are discontinuing this practice. Moving forward, we will only accept exceptional individuals at the top tier, rather than those competing for American jobs. These individuals will establish enterprises and generate employment for Americans. Additionally, this program will generate over $100 billion for the United States Treasury," he further stated.

White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf highlighted the administration's commitment to stopping illegal immigration while creating pathways for individuals who can positively contribute to the United States.

"A primary focus of your Administration has been redirecting both the discourse and policy dynamics surrounding immigration—securing the border, preventing illegal entry, but also, as demonstrated by this executive order, establishing new avenues for truly exceptional individuals to come and contribute to America rather than deplete its resources," Will Scharf remarked.

"This executive order, entitled the Gold Card, will establish a new visa pathway for foreigners with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to supporting the United States, requiring a payment of $1 million to the US Treasury, or if sponsored by a corporation, $2 million from that organization," he added.

Additionally, Trump issued a proclamation implementing a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications.

This measure aims to limit overutilization of the program, permitting companies to recruit only "highly skilled" workers from abroad. The Trump administration contends that this initiative will both create and safeguard employment opportunities for American workers.

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa allowing US-based companies to hire foreign workers for specialized positions in fields such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and IT (requiring high skills and minimum bachelor's degree qualifications).

United States Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, stated, "The fundamental concept is that large tech companies and other major corporations will no longer train foreign workers. They will need to pay the government $100,000, in addition to compensating the employee. This makes it economically impractical. If companies invest in training, they will train recent graduates from our outstanding universities across the country—train Americans rather than importing workers who take our jobs. That's the policy objective. All major companies support this approach."