President Donald Trump just dropped a bombshell that could redefine immigration with a hefty price tag.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order creating the “Gold Card” visa pathway for “extraordinary” foreigners willing to pay $1 million directly to the U.S. Treasury for expedited immigrant visas, while also tightening the screws on H-1B worker admissions with a steep fee hike for corporate sponsors, Breitbart reported.
In a bold move from the Oval Office, flanked by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf, Trump put pen to paper on this game-changing executive order. The “Gold Card” visa isn’t just a ticket to America—it’s a luxury pass for those with deep pockets. Corporations can also play ball by shelling out $2 million to sponsor a foreign talent.
“One of the biggest problems we have is that people, they go to the best schools and they do great, and then they’re thrown out of the country,” Trump declared. Well, now they can buy their way in, and it’s hard not to see this as a pragmatic, if eyebrow-raising, solution to keep top talent from slipping through our fingers.
“A corporation will be able to get them to stay in the country, and I think it’s going to be tremendously successful,” Trump added. Call it the ultimate signing bonus—except instead of a baseball contract, it’s a fast track to the American dream. One can’t help but wonder if this sets a precedent for immigration as a pay-to-play system.
At the same time, Trump didn’t stop at opening a gilded door for the elite. He also signed a proclamation that throws a wrench into the H-1B visa program for non-immigrant workers. Companies looking to sponsor these workers now face a jaw-dropping fee of $100,000 per head.
According to a White House fact sheet, this fee hike is designed to curb the influx of foreign workers under the H-1B program. It’s a clear signal: if businesses want to hire overseas, they’ll need to pay a premium. Turns out, protecting American jobs might come with a literal cost.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick didn’t mince words when explaining the broader context of employment-based immigration. “They were five times more likely to go on assistance programs of the government,” he said of current Green Card recipients. That statistic stings, painting a picture of a system that’s been more burden than benefit.
“So we were taking in the bottom quartile, below the average American,” Lutnick continued. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but he’s got a point—why prioritize those who statistically struggle when we could aim higher? The logic here isn’t charity; it’s strategy.
“We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top,” Lutnick emphasized. This pivot to prioritizing high-caliber individuals could be a win for innovation, assuming the price tag doesn’t deter the truly brilliant. After all, talent shouldn’t always need a trust fund.
Lutnick also took a swipe at big tech’s reliance on foreign labor. “So the whole idea is, no more will these big companies train foreign workers,” he said. It’s a jab at corporate greed, and frankly, a refreshing push to put American graduates first.
“If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of our great universities,” Lutnick urged. Imagine that—investing in our own backyard instead of outsourcing opportunity. It’s a no-brainer that’s been ignored for far too long.
Lutnick shared some eye-opening numbers: the employment-based Green Card program admits 281,000 immigrants yearly, with an average income of just $66,000. That’s below the national average, and when paired with the likelihood of needing government aid, it raises questions about who benefits from the current setup.
The “Gold Card” visa and H-1B fee increase seem poised to flip that script, focusing on self-sufficient, high-value contributors. Critics might call it elitist, but there’s a case to be made for prioritizing those who can stand on their own two feet. A nation’s first duty is to its citizens, not to every dreamer with a dollar.
At the end of the day, Trump’s latest moves are a gamble—rewarding exceptional talent while slamming the brakes on programs that may undercut American workers. It’s a tightrope walk between global competitiveness and domestic loyalty, but if executed well, it could redefine who gets to call America home. Let’s just hope the price of entry doesn’t drown out the promise of opportunity.
