**U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated the idea of replacing a visa program for foreign investors with a so-called “gold card” that could be bought for $5 million as a route to American citizenship.
Trump told reporters he will replace the “EB-5” immigrant investor visa program, which allows foreign investors of large sums of money that create or preserve U.S. jobs to become permanent residents, with a so-called “gold card.”**
This already exists in the USA
Trump added it is possible Russian oligarchs could qualify for the gold cards, when asked by a journalist if those people would be eligible. “Yeah, possibly. Hey. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people,” he said.
Well the message is clear at least -
Poor immigrants - deportations (publicly broadcast)
Rich immigrants - open arms (and discreetly handled)
Not in this form. The EB-5 visa requires you create jobs in the USA using at risk money. This program was created by Congress.
The Gold Card was created by executive order (not sure if the executive has that power), and all you do to pay some cash.
For example, let’s say you are a Russian oligarch and want to launder some money and maybe buy some influence. You could buy a golf club membership in Florida for an inflated price and Bingo! You are a citizen.
Not really, this is a big stretch onto a program which exists with other parameters for different reasons.
That said, I’d like to see a program by which we could raise $5 million and revoke someone’s citizenship and send them away. Got someone in mind, you know.
Require monthly payments of $5-million to KEEP any purchased citizenship. Problem resolves itself.
I would be willing to consider (no promises how I would vote) if we simultaneously legislated rapid citizen voted ostracism of gold card bearers.
The idea that companies will be willing to spend $5MM for a green card for a top performing graduate is interesting. The idea that you can use this as a method to generate trillions to paydown the national debt might be a bit of a stretch. Ten thousand a year might be possible, but millions will probably take years.
But it is low hanging fruit. Why not give it a try. Maybe we will be surprised.
And make Shiny land the destination for every crook, con man, and deposed despot on the lam, in the world? It follows that Shiny land would abrogate every extradition treaty on the books.
Steve
I wouldn’t be surprised if there is quite a bit of paperwork. Probably at least as rigorous as getting a passport. And if they have managed to get a PhD from Harvard maybe we should take a chance on them.
Why would they need to have a PhD from Harvard? That is not one of the requirements that were put forth.
** While the “gold card” visa may appear similar, experts warn that EB-5 has guardrails in place to specifically prevent the rich and wealthy from being able to purchase citizenship. “It’s not about paying the government millions of dollars to get a visa. It’s about showing that you have the capital available to actually improve our economy,” says Nessel. “It’s not clear what type of vetting or security checks would be put in place [for the new program].” Nessel notes that similar visa programs in other countries have been shut down to a variety of concerns, including money laundering and tax evasion. A program that has drawn comparisons in Spain will officially close this April.**
It’s interesting but do we really want someone to buy their way into our country without producing something? There are so many seats at the table.
Ask England, especially London, how great it is to have very wealthy foreigners move in with little more than proof of money.
$5m for GC is a great strategy.
Lots of swindled DEI money by low life idiots made it to corrupt people abroad will come back.
You really do not understand math do you? It takes 200,000 people paying 5 million to make 1 trillion dollars. We are 36 trillion in debt give or take. So it would take 7.2 million people to pay off our debt. Yea that is a great strategy. What this is, is a way to get your buddies into the United States. You know, The oligarchy in Russia.
You got that right, Trump swindled all the idiots into thinking everything was DEI. That is how he formed his base. A bunch of whiners that can’t hold a job. But I don’t like to call them low life idiots
Nonsensical. I can’t imagine a single company willing to do that for a graduate.
Have you EVER heard of a single college graduate being offered a $5MM signing bonus? How about even a $1MM signing bonus? Perhaps there is a single case, but not the “ten thousand” you seem to think exist.
$5MM signing bonuses are for professional sports, not working stiffs.
Graduates of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania reaped the highest signing bonuses: an average $33,433.
They won’t of course, and I cannot phathom why anyone would think that as well. It’s just not going to happen. Get a grip people.
What WILL happen is those highly sought after highly educated people will just work in their home country. Honestly, why come here, with all this hatred towards immigrants?
This has been happening for 20+ years in semiconductor. The amount of design work now done in India, rather than in Silicon Valley by Indian immigrants, is amazing. Half my team is in Bangalore.
We are dismantling our entire research pipeline and infrastructure. We are actively hostile to immigrants. We are literally destroying our own future, and half the country is happy.
That is the half that does not go to college. The half comprised, outside of a small fraction who work skilled trades, that can’t handle much more than screwing on lugnuts all day. That is the faction trade policy is aimed at: moving the lugnut screwing jobs back to the US, while defunding education moves more “knowledge” work offshore.
Steve
That is the half currently going through an outbreak of preventable diseases in Texas right now.
More religious fundamentalists (Mennonites, I think). Saw it mentioned in an online article today.
Can anyone list all the countries in the world with, say, over 50 million immigrants?