Trump’s immigration ‘gold card’ could be a huge winner — with these changes
President Trump announced a new immigration program last month under which prospective immigrants will be able to buy a “gold card” for $5 million to immigrate legally to the U.S. The new visa would replace the current EB-5 visa, known as the “investor visa,” and provide a path to citizenship. The president wants to use the revenue to pay off the country’s deficit.
The concept of a “gold card” is a good idea that could help streamline this country’s Kafkaesque immigration system and provide a source of revenue, along with boosting the many widely known benefits of immigration. But to be a true win for America, the price tag needs to change to open up the program to a larger number of productive newcomers.
Legal considerations aside — Trump claims he doesn’t need Congress to enact this change, which is questionable — a “gold card” program could potentially remove some of the many bureaucratic barriers to immigration. The current “investor visa,” which among other things requires a minimum investment in American companies of between $800,000 and $1.05 million, is complex, slow and inefficient. This program grants around 10,000 visas every year to investors and their families. While many........
© The Hill
