Trump says $1 million “gold card” visa could be lucrative for the U.S. Here’s how it works.

President Trump is touting his administration’s new “gold card” visa as a fast track for foreigners willing and able to pay $1 million for the right to immigrate to the United States.

Applications for the new visa went live on Wednesday afternoon, with the government’s website for the gold card indicating the process can be completed within a few weeks of applicants completing their paperwork.

Mr. Trump unveiled the gold card initiative in February, pitching it as a fast-track path for wealthy foreigners to obtain legal residency and as a way to generate revenue for the government. The term refers to the “green card,” which grants permanent resident status to noncitizens so they can live and work in the United States indefinitely.

“All the funds are going to the US government – ​​it could be a huge amount of money,” Mr Trump said on Wednesday of the gold card. “It’s a bit like a green card, but with big advantages over a green card.”

The program also includes a $2 million gold card for businesses seeking visas for their workers, as well as a $5 million platinum card that allows foreigners to spend up to 270 days in the United States without having to pay federal taxes on non-U.S. income.

“It’s certainly plausible to me that this could be a significant revenue stream,” John Lettieri, CEO of the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan policy research group, told CBS News.

But, he added, the gold card visa is likely a “niche program,” given its cost, although it could help attract highly skilled foreign workers or entrepreneurs to the United States.

Here’s how the gold card program will work.

What is a Trump Gold Card?

This is essentially a green card that was fast-tracked by the Trump administration.

The website for applying for a gold card says successful applicants will receive an EB-1 or EB-2 visa, two types of employment-based green cards for skilled workers. To apply for an individual Gold card, applicants must:

• Pay a $15,000 non-refundable processing fee to the Department of Homeland Security.
• Undergo a verification process, including a visa interview.
• Donate $1 million to the federal government once the review is complete.

The new program also allows companies to obtain gold cards for their employees, one per worker, each requiring a $2 million donation, according to the website.

Applicants must pay a $15,000 fee that will cover processing and background check costs, as well as a 1% annual maintenance fee. Companies can also transfer the gold card between employees for a 5% transfer fee, the program specifies.

A transfer could take place if the Gold card holder becomes a US citizen, for example.

One potential difference between the Trump Gold Card and other types of green cards is that the new visa process could take only a few weeks, according to the Trump administration.

By comparison, immigrants applying for a regular green card can expect to wait between eight months and three years for approval, according to immigration services company Boundless. The fastest processing time is for spouses of U.S. citizens, who typically have to wait eight months, the group said.

How is the Trump Gold Card different from an EB-5 visa?

The gold card is intended to replace EB-5 visas, created by Congress in 1990 to generate foreign investment. These are available to people who spend at least $1 million to start a business with at least 10 workers.

However, unlike the EB-5 visa, a gold card visa does not require applicants to create a certain number of jobs or invest in U.S. companies.

The EB-5 program has been criticized as burdensome and an invitation to fraud. In one notable case in recent years, hundreds of EB-5 applicants were defrauded by Vermont business executives who claimed to be building a biotechnology facility but instead used the money for personal expenses.

The process of obtaining an EB-5 visa is also glacially slow, with a processing time of nearly six years. These are “by far the longest processing times in the U.S. immigration system,” according to an April blog post on EIG’s Trump Gold Cards.

The gold card is designed to help companies recruit foreign graduates from US universities such as MIT and Harvard, Mr Trump said on Wednesday.

“I heard Tim Cook from Apple, and a lot of people, some around this table, say that basically in the United States you can’t keep the student,” Mr. Trump said.

Can Gold card holders become citizens?

Gold card recipients “have a path to citizenship,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday at a news conference with Mr. Trump.

“Obviously, they have to be perfect people in America, and after they pass the check, after five years, they will be available to become citizens,” Lutnick said.

Green card holders can generally apply for citizenship after residing in the United States for five years.

Companies that obtain a gold card for workers who then become citizens can transfer it to new employees, Lutnick added.

Can a gold card visa be revoked?

Yes: The application website states: “The Trump Gold Card is a visa; therefore, national security and significant criminal risks provide a basis for revocation. »

How much money could the visa program raise for the United States?

Mr. Trump did not provide an estimate this week, but the program could generate billions in annual revenue, said Lettieri of the Economic Innovation Group.

Based on the $1 million cost of a visa gold card, the program could raise $100 billion over a decade if it issued 10,000 gold cards a year, he calculated.

“From a conservative perspective, tens of billions over a decade is reasonable – it could be considerably higher,” Lettieri said.