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Will change green card, says US Commerce Secy Lutnick; calls H1-B visa system ‘terrible’
“I'm involved in changing the H1-B program. We're going to change that program,” Lutnick said.
United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the country is looking to change the green card and H1-B visa system, altering significant parts of the current immigration program in place.
“I'm involved in changing the H1-B program. We're going to change that program,” Lutnick said in an interview to Fox News, while calling the visa system “terrible”.
Lutnick further said that the Donald Trump-led administration would also make changes to the green card. “We give green cards. The average American makes $75,000 a year, and the average green card recipient $66,000. So we're taking the bottom quartile. Why are we doing that?” Lutnick questioned.
He further cited the above reason for the changes being brought to the immigration system, while saying that a ‘gold card’ would be introduced.
“That's the gold card that's coming. And that's we're gonna start picking the best people to come into this country. It's time for that to change,” the commerce secretary said.
What is the proposed Gold Card?
Under the ‘gold card’ proposed by the Trump administration, foreigners who invest $5 million in the US would be offered permanent residency in the country.
Lutnick has claimed that there is already a strong interest the proposed program, and that 250,000 people are in queue. He has further said that the program will generate $1.25 trillion in revenue for the US.
Earlier this month, White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs had adopted a proposed regulation, which would prioritise applicants for the H-1B visa on the basis of earnings, replacing the current lottery system.
There is an annual cap of 85,000 visas under the H-1B program at present, with a random lottery selecting which employers may file visa requests. The recommendation for allocating H-1B visas based on earnings, separated into four categories, for prioritising higher-paying positions, was made by the Department of Homeland Security in 2021.
