Donald Trump has unveiled a new path to US citizenship for eligible immigrants that could allow them to ‘skip the line’ and dodge the usual lengthy processing times.
The president announced the new scheme on Wednesday (December 10) during a televised, roundtable meeting in the White House; however, the new lucrative path to becoming a US citizen now comes with a hefty price tag.
Under the current immigration system, citizenship for foreigners can typically be acquired via a green card, which involves a lengthy legal process and can take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete.
The processing time largely depends on the type of green card being requested (family, employment, asylum, etc.) as well as your country of birth.
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Yet under the new proposals, wealthy individuals will be able to skip the immigration line completely by purchasing a ‘gold card’, which can effectively fast-track the process to United States citizenship.
Aimed at millionaires and billionaires, the cost of a gold card will reportedly start at $1million for individuals and $2million for corporations, with all proceeds from the eye-watering price tag set to go to the federal government.
"It could be a tremendous amount of money," Trump said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
In addition to the $1million lump sum, individual applicants will also need to pass a background check and pay a $15,000 filing fee.
For corporation applicants, businesses will also need to pay a one percent annual maintenance fee of $20,000, and a five percent transfer fee of $100,000 each time they want to switch the visa from one employee to another.
A further program, the ‘Platinum card’, is also due to be launched in the coming weeks and will allow people to enter and stay in the US for 270 days (roughly nine months) without having to pay any taxes on non-US income – but only if they’re willing to pay a $5million fee for the privilege.
The introduction of a new path to citizenship and the enthusiasm Trump showed for the new policy stands at odds with his recent immigration policy, which has pursued mass deportations.
Immediately following the announcement, the White House started taking online applications for the new path to citizenship, with Trump framing the new policy as a way for US companies to hire foreign students.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has already highlighted the reluctance of many big corporations to hire foreign students and graduates due to uncertainty over whether they would be permitted to stay in the US.
This is something that Trump said the new gold card will address.
“You’ll be able to buy a card and keep that person in the United States,” he told reporters.
Topics: Donald Trump, Immigration
Phoebe Tonks