U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive decree on 19 November, saying it would open a new visa channel for “foreigners with extraordinary abilities and willing to support the United States”: individuals who pay $1 million to the U.S. Treasury Department, or pay $2 million by corporate sponsorship, can get accelerated visa approval through this “gold card” program.
More than $100 billion?
Trump's "Golden Card" model posted on social media. (According to China News Network)
Trump said on the social media platform that the immigration system in the United States needs to be reformed urgently, and it is expected that the "Trump Gold Card" will soon bring in far more than $100 billion in revenue. The money will go towards tax cuts, projects that drive economic growth, and the repayment of national debt. In another post, Trump wrote, "Buy Trump Gold Card now," and linked to a government website.
According to the relevant website, after passing the audit and paying the related procedural fees, applicants can obtain a "Trump Gold Card" for $ 1 million, thereby obtaining permanent residence status. and the upcoming "Bitcoin Card" sale price is $ 5 million, allowing cardholders to pay taxes to the United States for up to 270 days in the year without paying to the United States on their non-U.S. income.
As early as February this year, Trump announced that he would launch an immigration "gold card" priced at $5 million. Now the price of the "gold card" has been reduced to $1 million, and $5 million can get the "platinum card".
Images of Central News
According to the website, companies can use the “Trump Enterprise Gold Card” to sponsor one or more employees, each costing $2 million to sponsor one employee.
It is not clear when such visas will begin to be issued. There is an "Apply Now" page on the website, which requires applicants to fill in their names, locations and email addresses. Some experts said that the project may need to be approved by Congress.
A huge debt trouble.
Trump also signed an announcement on the 19th to increase the fee paid by enterprises for H-1B visa applicants to $100,000, saying that this move was aimed at ensuring that the United States introduced highly skilled talents who could not be replaced by Americans. Previously, enterprises usually paid thousands of dollars for H-1B visas.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Lutnick said that the increase in H-1B visa fees and the "gold card" plan can be directly announced and implemented by the president, while the "platinum card" plan needs the approval of Congress.
The Washington Post quoted David Bill, an expert at Kato Institute, an American think tank, as saying that the increase of H-1B visa fees and the "gold card" program are expected to quickly lead to "legal challenges" from the business community and employees. Bill said that according to U.S. federal law, only Congress has the power to set up new visa entry programs and add fees to existing visa categories.
This is the building of the U.S. Treasury Department photographed on July 29, 2024 in the U.S. capital Washington.
Analysts point out that the current severe fiscal difficulties and debt pressure in the United States are the core reasons why the Trump administration has launched such a visa program.
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office predicted in early 2020 that the scale of federal government debt would exceed $37 trillion after fiscal year 2030. But just in August this year, the total debt of the U.S. federal government exceeded $37 trillion, accounting for about 126.8% of GDP, which is five years ahead of the forecast time limit. The scale and speed of U.S. debt expansion continue to raise concerns.
U.S. media pointed out that the U.S. economic growth has long been lower than the rate of national bond expansion, and the government has failed to effectively compress spending. In this context, the "Gold Card" program, which is central to the sale of high-price residence rights, is trying to ease the financial trouble through "rich immigrants transfusion of blood", "to become rich" means obvious. Currently, the "Gold Card" "Golden Card" program's "market situation" is not known, but it can be certain that in comparison with the huge debt of the United States, the cost will be a cupcake salary.
Source:Xinhua news agency, China news network D21