On Wednesday, President Donald Trump revealed that the 'Gold Card' would be a route to U.S. citizenship for buyers, and it would cost an estimated $5 million. He said that such cards may be on sale in the next two weeks.
The 'Gold Card' is meant to enable American businesses to purchase them for the crème de la crème that they intend to hire from U.S. universities, especially students from countries like India, China, and Japan. It would also offer a chance for foreign rich folks to come into America, some of whom end up starting businesses that create jobs.
"It's like a Green Card Plus, and it's a way to citizenship," Trump said in his first cabinet meeting. "We're calling it the Gold Card, and I think it will be greatly prized. I think it will be very successful. Hopefully, we'll begin to sell them in two weeks or so," he said.
The present Green Card provides permanent residence and also has a route to citizenship. The U.S. also has a pre-existing visa program called EB-5, where foreign nationals can receive a Green Card by making an investment of around $1 million. The Trump administration has, however, criticized this program as being wastefully run.
While speaking during the televised cabinet meeting, Trump brought forth the challenge business faces while trying to keep such high-flying graduates. "I get phone calls from businesses that are desperate to hire the best student from a school," he told reporters.
"People from India, China, and Japan go to high-end universities—Harvard, the Wharton School of Finance, Yale, and some very prestigious universities,". They graduate at the top of their class and get job offers, but those job offers are immediately withdrawn because there is no guarantee that they can remain in the country. I want to make sure that these people can stay here. Businesses will be able to buy a Gold Card and utilize it as a recruitment tool. We're going to start selling in roughly two weeks," Trump said.
In addition, the president views the 'Gold Card' as a way to raise revenue to assist in decreasing the national debt.
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