President Donald Trump launched a new visa program on Wednesday with steep fees for participants. The new “gold card” program allows foreigners to pay $1 million to expedite visa applications, according to CNN. Companies looking to bring a foreign worker to the U.S. under the program will pay $2 million. A website, trumpcard.gov, launched Wednesday afternoon and includes a link to the official application. It promises the program will deliver U.S. residency in “record time.” The site also offers a preview of a “Trump Platinum Card,” which will allow applicants to spend up to 270 days in the U.S. without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income, according to CNN. The platinum card will cost $5 million. Trump sees the new program as a way to attract top talent to the U.S. and generate revenue at the same time, according to The Associated Press. He has been promoting the gold card program for months. The initiative has attracted criticism. Some Democrats and advocates for immigrants have said it will unfairly prioritize wealthy individuals, according to The New York Times. Some have also questioned whether Trump’s creation of the program is legal. Trump has suggested millions of gold cards could be sold, according to CNN. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said previously the program could raise $1 trillion to help pay down the national debt. The new gold cards are meant to replace EB-5 visas, which Congress created in 1990 to generate foreign investment, according to AP. They were available to people who spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people. Individuals approved through the gold card program will get lawful permanent resident status as an EB-1 or EB-2 visa holder, according to CNN. Those are employment-based visas given to people with “extraordinary” or “exceptional” abilities. Kevin's current focus is data journalism for Syracuse.com on topics including real estate, crime, the economy, education and more. He analyzes trends and produces stories, charts and tables using publicly... more