U.S. President Donald Trump is said to be drafting a proposal to make it easier for rich immigrants to become American citizens by issuing "gold cards" that would cost $5 million. Trump said the cards would give green-card residency status and a direct route to U.S. citizenship. He also estimated that up to one million of the cards might be sold.
Trump thinks this program would go a long way toward paying down the national debt. Speaking to reporters, he announced the new plan would supplant the current "EB-5" immigrant investor visa program, which enables foreign investors who create or preserve American jobs to receive permanent residence.
In the EB-5 program, green cards are awarded to foreign investors who invest in American companies. Trump, arguing that this is too indirect an approach, plans to present the "gold card" as a simpler option.
"We are going to be selling an immigration gold card.We are going to be charging for this card in the neighborhood of $5 million," he stated.
"It's going to bring you green card benefits but also it's going to be a path to (American) citizenship, and successful individuals would be entering our country by purchasing this card," he continued.
More information about the scheme will be made public in two weeks. Asked if Russian nationals would be included, Trump did not say no. "Yeah, maybe. Hey. I know some Russian oligarchs that are wonderful people," he said.
Understanding the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which is administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was created by Congress in 1990. Its mission, according to the USCIS website, is to "stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors."
But the Trump administration seems to consider the EB-5 program as defective. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick condemned it, saying, "The EB-5 program. it was full of nonsense, make-believe and fraud, and it was a way to get a green card that was low price. So the president said, rather than having this sort of ridiculous EB-5 program, we're going to end the EB-5 program. We're going to replace it with the Trump gold card."
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