US President Donald Trump touted his recent visa proposal – “a gold card” sold for $5m providing a path to citizenship – as a way to help bring the American budget in balance. He said the new visa option will bring in “brilliant, hardworking, job-creating people” to the United States, who are going to “pay a lot of money” to the government.

“I want to do what has not been done in 24 years, balance the federal budget,” he said while addressing the joint session of Congress.

He said his administration has “developed in great detail what we are calling the gold card”, which goes on sale “very, very soon – for $5 million.” The President said the gold card is “like the green card, but better and more sophisticated.”

“While we take out the criminals, killers, traffickers, and child predators… we will now bring in brilliant, hardworking, job-creating people… These people will have to pay tax in our country,” he said.

“They’re going to pay a lot of money and we’re going to reduce our debt with that money,” the President added.

The Trump administration on February 25 unveiled plans to offer a “gold card” visa with a path to citizenship for $5 million. The new visa option will replace the 35-year-old EB-5 visas for investors, the President said at the time.

He also said that the new visas would function similarly to green cards, which allow “high-level” immigrants from varying income levels to live and work permanently in the US. But, the new initiative would allow affluent investors to bypass the conventional, multi-step process of securing a green card—a system that has evolved over decades.