US President Donald Trump, along with United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, officially launched a new immigration program on Wednesday called the “Trump Gold Card.” The program is designed to allow wealthy individuals and companies to legally bring people into the United States if they can pay a high fee and pass a strict vetting process.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained the vision behind the program in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday. He said, “We’re the only great country that lets other people just come in without vetting them and deciding whether they’re really going to help the economy of America.”
Trump Gold Card: America focusing on the ‘Top of the Best’
Lutnick argued that the US should focus on immigrants who will boost the economy. He said, “Let’s bring in the top of the best. Let’s help them grow America and build America. Why should we take people who are below average? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
He added that the “average green-card holder” earns one-third less than the average American, suggesting that the current immigration system allows people who may not contribute as much economically. Lutnick explained that the willingness of an immigrant to pay the $1 million fee shows their commitment and capability. “We should be bringing in the best and the brightest. That’s what Donald Trump is changing about our immigration system,” he said.
Lutnick repeated his claim during the Fox News interview, where he said, “Green card recipients made one-third less than the average American, so we were taking in the bottom quartile, the bottom 25% of America. Why? Why shouldn’t we take in the top of the top? That’s what President Trump is thinking. Let’s bring in the best people to help America, and let’s put $1 million down towards America.”
How does Trump’s Gold Card work?
Under the new pay-to-play immigration framework, individuals who want to enter the United States legally must pay a $15,000 vetting fee and have an extra $1 million to contribute. Businesses can also participate in the program, paying $2 million per person they want to bring to the country.
Lutnick during the White House interview said, “So for an individual it’s $1 million. And for a corporation, it’s $2 million. And, as the president said, for a corporation, they spend $2 million, they can then have an employee, fully vetted, the best vetting the government has ever done – $15,000 vetting to make sure these people absolutely qualify to be in America, absolutely qualify. And then the company can keep them here, and they have a path to citizenship.”
Earlier this year, Trump proposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, a popular way for technology companies to hire skilled workers from abroad. The gold card is an even more dramatic change. It will allow wealthy individuals to essentially buy a faster path to US residency and eventually citizenship.
The program is planned so that applicants must pass a five-year vetting process to become eligible for citizenship. Lutnick added that the Gold Card is a way for the United States to attract highly skilled individuals, saying, “Obviously, they have to be perfect people in America and having passed the vetting after five years, they’ll be available to become citizens. And then the corporation can put someone else on the card. So, for a company that can keep putting people on the card, one person per card, and for an individual, it’s $1 million and it’s a gift to the United States of America to help America be great again under Donald Trump.”
The $15,000 vetting fee alone is far higher than the typical fees for visas or green cards. Most temporary visas require a few hundred dollars in application fees, while green cards usually cost a couple of thousand dollars.
The gold card is designed to replace the EB-5 visa, a program created in 1990 that required around $1 million in investment and the creation of at least 10 jobs. Trump did not address whether the new gold card would have similar job-creation requirements or limits on the number of applicants.