US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that his long-promised “gold card” program is officially launching. This new program will offer legal status and a path to US citizenship for people who pay a large fee. Individuals will need to pay $1 million, and companies will need to pay $2 million for each foreign employee they want to sponsor.

A website to accept applications went live as Trump introduced the program at the White House, surrounded by business leaders. The new gold card is meant to replace the current EB-5 visa program, which was created in 1990. The EB-5 allowed foreign investors to get a green card if they invested about $1 million in a US business that created at least 10 jobs. Trump said this new version will attract top global talent and bring more money into the US government.

Trump has been talking about this program for months. At one point, he suggested the card could cost $5 million, but later brought it down to $1 million for individuals and $2 million for companies. He said all the money collected will go directly to the US government and predicted that billions of dollars will flow into the Treasury Department.

Although Trump calls it a “gold card,” it is basically a green card with extra benefits, including a stronger path to citizenship. Trump said it is “much more powerful” than the traditional green card. Unlike the old EB-5 program, Trump did not mention any requirements for job creation or limits on the number of people who can apply. Instead, he focused on helping businesses hire talented graduates from top US universities. According to Trump, many companies struggle to keep skilled international students because they do not have long-term visas.

Trump has always been known for strict immigration policies, especially at the US-Mexico border. His administration carried out mass deportations and tough crackdowns. However, he has also repeatedly said that skilled immigrants should be allowed to stay in the US, something this new program supports. This has led to criticism from some supporters of his “Make America Great Again” movement.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained that each applicant will pay an additional $15,000 for background checks. He promised that the vetting process will be extremely thorough. Companies can apply for multiple gold cards but will only be able to sponsor one person per card.

Lutnick added that the US wants to move away from bringing in low-income green card holders and instead attract highly skilled and well-paid workers. He said the US will now focus on “the best people.”

Many countries already offer investor visas or “golden visas,” including the UK, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada, and Italy. Trump said the US program aims to bring “tremendous people” into the country, such as top graduates from countries like China, India, and France.