Former US President Donald Trump has brought forward the 'gold card' scheme, something he says will allow American companies to hire Indian graduates from the top US colleges like Harvard and Stanford.
The former president of the US released this scheme, targeted at high-income foreign nationals, on Wednesday, which bestows upon them the right to work and stay in the US. It also provides a doorway to citizenship with a payment of USD 5 million.
"We're going to be selling a gold card," Trump declared from the Oval Office.
"You have a green card. This is a gold card. We're going to be charging a fee for that card of around USD 5 million, and that's going to get you green card benefits, and it's also going to be a pathway to citizenship. And rich folks are going to be entering our nation by purchasing this card," CNN quoted Trump as saying.
Pointing to the shortcomings of the existing immigration system, Trump mentioned that it has kept highly qualified foreign professionals, especially from India, from staying and working in the US.
"A guy comes from India, China, Japan, and so on, goes to Harvard or the Wharton School of Finance, they get job offers, but the offer is taken back right away because there is no guarantee about whether that individual can remain in the country," he explained.
Trump emphasized that in the process, most of these brilliant graduates who are forced to depart from the US end up establishing thriving businesses in their native countries.
"They go back to India or their own country, establish businesses, and become billionaires, hiring thousands," he further added.
Trump explained that firms can buy a 'gold card' to make it easier to hire such brilliant people.
"I want to be in the position that allows that person to remain here, these firms are able to go out and purchase a gold card, and then they use it as an option for recruiting. Meanwhile, that money that company is going to use to reduce debt. We are going to reduce plenty of debt by it, and I believe that gold card will get used and will get used other than this, too." Trump said.
He also disclosed that the sale of these cards is likely to begin within two weeks and estimated that millions would be sold.
Trump reiterated that the purpose of this program is to substitute the current EB-5 immigrant investor visa program. Congress launched the EB-5 program in 1992, permitting foreign investors to gain green cards by investing a minimum of USD 1,050,000—or USD 800,000 in economically disadvantaged areas referred to as targeted employment areas—to create job opportunities for American workers, based on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
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