Former US President Donald Trump has introduced a new visa program called the "gold card," which could help Indian graduates and investors get a chance to live and work in the United States. This visa, costing $5 million, also provides a potential pathway to US citizenship. Trump hopes the program will generate major revenue for the US economy and replace the current EB-5 visa system.

A new opportunity for Indian graduates

During his first cabinet meeting of his second term on Thursday, Trump explained how the gold card visa would benefit skilled workers, especially Indian graduates from US universities. He pointed out that many talented individuals who study in the US are unable to stay and work due to current visa policies.

"A person comes from India, China, Japan, lots of different places, and they go to Harvard, the Wharton School of Finance... they are made job offers, but the offer is immediately rescinded because you have no idea whether that person can stay in the country," Trump said.

He further explained that these highly educated individuals often return to their home countries and establish successful businesses. "They go back to India, or they go back to the country where they came from, and they open up a company, and they become billionaires. They're employing thousands of people," he said. According to Trump, this results in an economic loss for the US.

Trump said that the US should bring in and keep skilled workers. He explained, "We have to be able to get people in the country, and we want people that are productive people."

He pointed out that some countries, like Portugal, already have programs that allow foreigners to live there if they invest money in their economy. Trump thinks that introducing a similar program in the US will be helpful.

Revenue generation and visa system changes

Trump sees the gold card visa as a way to generate revenue for the country. "If we sell a million, that’s $5 trillion dollars," he said, suggesting that this money could be used to reduce national debt.

The gold card visa will replace the EB-5 visa program, which currently allows investors to gain residency by investing at least $1 million in businesses that create jobs. Trump believes the new system will attract wealthy individuals who will contribute significantly to the economy.

"They'll be wealthy, and they'll be successful, and they'll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it's going to be extremely successful," he said.

Trump is confident that the gold card visa will be in high demand. "I happen to think it’ll sell like crazy. It’s a market. But we’ll know very soon," he added.

While US Congress is responsible for determining citizenship qualifications, Trump stated that the gold card visa would not require congressional approval.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was also present at the meeting, confirmed that the new program would replace the EB-5 visa system. He criticized the EB-5 program, calling it "poorly overseen and poorly executed," and expressed confidence that the new gold visa system would be a better option.

"We're going to make sure they're wonderful world-class global citizens," Lutnick said about future gold card applicants.

However, many details about the program remain unclear, such as how applicants will be selected, whether there will be any restrictions, and if there will be a limit on the number of visas issued.

In 2024, the US government issued over 12,000 EB-5 visas, marking a record high for that program. It remains to be seen how the gold card visa will perform once it is implemented.

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