By Ayo Kehinde
US President, Donald Trump, has disclosed plans to introduce a new Gold Card visa to attract wealthy foreigners to America.
The Gold card programme, scheduled to roll out in two weeks, aims to attract “very high-level people” who will be able to apply to become lawful permanent residents in the US.
While the Gold Card would cost as much as $5 million, Trump said the proceeds from the programme could help pay down the deficit.
“It’s going to be a route to citizenship, and wealthy people will come into our country by buying this card. They’ll be wealthy, and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes”, Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, called it the “Trump Gold Card” and said it would effectively replace the current EB-5 immigrant investor visa. That programme gives residency to foreigners who invest at least $1.05 million in a new business that creates jobs or $800,000 if the business is in a rural area, high unemployment area or an infrastructure project.
Lutnick told reporters the EB-5 programme was “full of nonsense, make-believe and fraud”, he emphasised that applicants for the “gold card” would be vetted.
