On Friday, President Trump signed several executive orders during a press gaggle in the Oval Office, along with a proclamation, aimed at restoring a strong U.S, employment number over the long term by restricting the hiring of foreign workers and changing the way some of those workers gain permanent residency in the country.
One of the orders involves the new "Gold Card," unsurprisingly branded with 47's surname:
...[O]n Friday, Trump rolled out a new visa pathway that he's calling the "Trump Gold Card." It allows vetted individuals to pay $1 million in exchange for an expedited process and a pathway to lawful permanent resident status, according to the program's website. Corporations sponsoring individuals would have to pay $2 million.
"It's going to raise billions of dollars, billions and billions of dollars, which is going to reduce taxes, pay off debt, and other good things," Trump said.
But the centerpiece of the signing event was the H-1B visa restrictions laid out in a new presidential proclamation, on what some see as a glut of foreign workers hired by companies based in the U.S. instead of Americans:
WASHINGTON —
President Donald Trump is overhauling a visa program intended for high-skilled workers by hiking the application fee to $100,000 annually from $215.
...
The H-1B visa program aims to bring in foreign workers for high-skilled, hard-to-fill jobs. Historically, these visas have been awarded through a lottery system.
Opponents argue that businesses are abusing the program to pay overseas workers lower wages. At a press conference on Friday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the steeper application fee will incentivize companies to hire Americans instead. He predicted program usage will ultimately fall below the current 85,000 annual cap as a result.
"Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs," Lutnick said.
Watch:
.@POTUS signs a Proclamation to restrict the entry of certain H-1B aliens into the U.S. as nonimmigrant workers, requiring a $100,000 payment to accompany or supplement H-1B petitions for new applications.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 19, 2025
AMERICA FIRST! pic.twitter.com/AzAUJzXawV
One X user described the changes envisioned by the president's EO as a "three-way Gordian knot cut" [Note: The video in the X post will not play, but the version embedded below it will]:
Three-way Gordian knot cut.
— ib (@Indian_Bronson) September 20, 2025
If an employer can't afford an H-1B, they weren't really hiring high skilled high value labor. If a foreigner can't afford a Gold Card, they don't really merit fast entry. And if a US citizen still can't get a job in tech, they were never going to. https://t.co/twoiQykRRY pic.twitter.com/882sOYBvcS
Here's a longer video that includes a media question:
NOW - Trump signs "Gold Card" executive order, expediting H-1B visas for a fee up to $2,000,000 and imposing a $100,000 annual sponsorship fee for regular applicants. pic.twitter.com/sWvAdQs72H
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 19, 2025
In the proclamation, entitled "RESTRICTION ON ENTRY OF CERTAIN NONIMMIGRANT WORKERS," the Labor secretary is ordered to "initiate a rulemaking to revise the prevailing wage levels to levels consistent with the policy goals" set out in the document.
In addition, "no later than 30 days following the completion of the H-1B lottery that immediately follows this proclamation, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security" are directed to submit recommendations to Pres. Trump/the Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor on whether to extend or renew the executive order.
The Labor Department dropped a slick video on enforcing the H-1B visa provisions via "Project Firewall":
The days of employers abusing H-1B Visas are over.
— U.S. Department of Labor (@USDOL) September 19, 2025
Introducing PROJECT FIREWALL—our plan to ensure high-skilled jobs go to AMERICANS FIRST 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/XPwBJSZfto
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
Help us continue to report on the president’s economic successes and combat the lies of the Democrats. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member