Trump Rolls Out New Visa Fees and "Gold Card" in Effort to Restrict Immigration

President Donald Trump announced a new policy aimed at restricting immigration, including a $100,000 annual visa fee for highly-skilled foreign workers and a $1 million "gold card" visa as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy individuals. The moves face near-certain legal challenges amid widespread criticism that Trump is sidestepping Congress. The visa fee for skilled workers would jump from $215, while the fee for investor visas would climb from $10,000 to $20,000 a year. Critics argue that the H-1B program is a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for as little as $60,000 annually, well below the $100,000-plus salaries typically paid to U.S. technology workers.

Key Takeaways:

The new visa fees will deliver staggering price increases, with the fee for skilled workers jumping from $215 to $100,000 annually.
The fee for investor visas will climb from $10,000 to $20,000 a year.
The H-1B visa program is a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for as little as $60,000 annually.
Critics argue that companies can pay less by classifying jobs at the lowest skill levels, even if the specific workers hired have more experience.
The "Trump Platinum Card" will be available for a $5 million fee and will allow foreigners to spend up to 270 days in the U.S. without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.
The gold and platinum cards will replace employment-based visas that offer paths to citizenship, including for professors, scientists, artists, and athletes.
Critics of H-1B visas who say they are used to replace American workers applauded the move, with U.S. Tech Workers calling it "the next best thing" to abolishing the visas altogether.
Doug Rand, a senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, said the proposed fee increase was "ludicrously lawless."

Statistics:

The current fee for H-1B visas is $215.
The fee for investor visas will climb from $10,000 to $20,000 a year.
The "Trump Platinum Card" will cost $5 million and will allow foreigners to spend up to 270 days in the U.S. without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.
California has the highest number of H-1B workers, with Amazon being the top recipient of H-1B visas with more than 10,000 awarded.
The lottery bids for H-1B visas plunged nearly 40% in 2024, which authorities said was due to success against people who were "gaming the system" by submitting multiple, sometimes dubious, applications.

Sources:

WASHINGTON (AP)
Associated Press writers Ortutay, Licon, and Spagat