US President Trump announces ‘Gold Card’ for foreigners of ‘extraordinary ability’
New York/Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order entitled ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for foreigners of extraordinary ability who are committed to supporting the United States.
Under the Gold Card programme, signed on Friday, individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, will get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card in the country.
“We're taking in hundreds of billions of dollars. The Gold Card will be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars, and companies will be able to keep some people they need. They need people of expertise, great expertise,” Trump said.
Trump emphasised the gold card will be a “fantastic thing” and “we're going to take that money and we're going to reduce taxes, we're going to reduce debt”.
“To apply, an applicant must pay a nonrefundable processing fee. Once an applicant’s processing fee is received, the process for visa adjudication will take place, assuming applicants submit additional documents in a timely manner," the official website of the programme said.
The website said that if approved, an individual “must make a gift of USD 1 million, which has been determined to provide sufficient evidence that the individual will substantially benefit the United States.”
The applicants must be “eligible for lawful permanent resident status, admissible to the United States, and a visa must be available,” the website added.
“The Order directs the Secretary of Commerce to deposit the gifts into the Treasury and use them to promote commerce and American industry,” a White House statement said.
The Gold Card prioritises entry for high-value contributors to American society, including successful entrepreneurs, investors, and businessmen, it said.
“Early in his second term, President Trump proposed Gold Cards, a vision he is now delivering to attract wealthy investors and entrepreneurs,” it added.
The programme will generate revenue and provide certainty to immigrants who can make significant contributions to the American economy, the statement added.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
