Gold Immigration Card and $100,000 H-1B Entry Fee

Washington D.C. (September 21, 2025) - In response to President Trump’s signing of two major immigration actions on Friday, the Center provides history, analysis, and recommendations for additional reforms to protect American workers and to benefit the U.S. taxpayer. The President’s actions include the following:

First, through an executive order, the administration formally created a new Gold immigration card, offering lawful permanent residence in exchange for $1 or $2 million gifts to the U.S. Commerce Department. a means of expediting lawful entry for foreign nationals seeking to work in the United States.

Second, President Trump issued a proclamation imposing a $100,000 entry fee on foreign H-1B workers applying for H-1B visas—temporary work permits originally intended supposedly for “the best and the brightest,” but long criticized for displacing and undercutting the wages of American workers.

The Center’s detailed analysis:

President Trump’s Gold Card: Intriguing idea complicated by statutory requirements and waiting lists

President Trump’s H-1B 100 Grand Entry Bar: How many would be covered, and how much would employers actually pay?

More on Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Proclamation

“For too long, loopholes in the H-1B program have allowed corporations to undercut American workers and depress wages under the guise of a labor shortage,” commented Elizabeth Jacobs, the Center’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Policy. “By imposing this new fee, the Trump administration is signaling that U.S. workers must come first, but meaningful legislative reform is still urgently needed.”

George Fishman, the Center’s Senior Legal Fellow, said, “President Trumps’s two new programs, both in compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act not increasing legal immigration levels, should provide significant benefit to American workers now competing with cheap H-1B foreign labor in STEM fields and millions, if not billions, of dollars in revenue to the U.S. government.”

Proclamation on H-1B visas:

Found that the program has been exploited to replace, not supplement, American workers.
Relies on the President’s authority under § 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, granting the president broad discretion to bar or condition entry of aliens when deemed in the national interest.
Requires certain H-1B petitions to include a supplemental $100,000 payment.

Practical effects:

The fee applies only to new entrants, not to aliens already present in the U.S.
Employers would pay the fee once per worker, covering up to six years or more of employment; spread across that time, the cost falls short of closing the wage gap with U.S. tech workers, suggesting that a higher fee would be needed to eliminate the incentive for employers to hire cheaper H-1B workers.
Higher fees in the future could further narrow the program to only the most highly skilled.

Gold Card Program:

Allows aliens making a $1 million “gift” to the U.S. Commerce Department (or a $2 million employer gift) to qualify for:

The 1st preference employment-based green card category (extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics).
The 2nd preference category (exceptional ability in sciences, arts, or business).

Gifts are directed to the Department of Commerce to promote U.S. Commerce and industry.
Annual green card availability for these two categories remains capped at about 80,080, with long waits expected to continue for nationals of China and India due to per-country limits.