President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that a “gold card” visa would soon be available, offering a revised path to U.S. citizenship for successful individuals from around the world. Trump advertised the new visa as superior to the green card, emphasizing its sophisticated nature and the requirement for recipients to pay taxes in the U.S. He stated that this initiative will attract wealthy job creators to the country, framing it as a strategic move for economic growth.
The introduction of the “gold card” visa is part of Trump’s broader plan to reform U.S. immigration policies. It aims to provide permanent residency to wealthier international students and is positioned as an alternative to the EB-5 visa program—though without full details on how the new visa would mitigate the fraud and national security concerns that have plagued EB-5.
Critics like Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, have expressed worries about the potential for fraud with the new visa offering. Despite acknowledging the goals of attracting successful businesspeople, Ries questioned the mechanics of preventing fraud given its prevalence in the EB-5 program, which the “gold card” visa would replace.
The proposal comes at a time of Trump tightening controls on undocumented immigration and amid rising scrutiny over the financial implications and viability of higher education in the U.S. It underscores Trump’s strategy to draw high-net-worth individuals into the U.S. through a premium immigration pathway.
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-touts-5-million-gold-card-new-path-citizenship
