WASHINGTON, Sept 20, (AP): US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that will require a $100,000 annual visa fee for highly-skilled foreign workers and rolled out a $1 million "gold card” visa as a pathway to US citizenship for wealthy individuals, moves that face near-certain legal challenges amid widespread criticism he is sidestepping Congress.

If the moves survive legal muster, they will deliver staggering price increases. The visa fee for skilled workers would jump from $215. The fee for investor visas, which are common in many European countries, would climb from $10,000-$20,000 a year. H-1B visas, which require at least a bachelor's degree, are meant for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill.

Critics say the program is a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for as little as $60,000 annually, well below the $100,000-plus salaries typically paid to US technology workers. Trump on Friday insisted that the tech industry would not oppose the move. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said "all big companies” are on board.

Representatives for the biggest tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta, did not immediately respond to messages for comment on Friday. Microsoft declined to comment. Lutnick said the change will likely result in far fewer H-1B visas than the 85,000 annual cap allows because "it’s just not economic anymore.” "If you’re going to train people, you’re going to train Americans.” Lutnick said on a conference call with reporters.

"If you have a very sophisticated engineer and you want to bring them in ... then you can pay $100,000 a year for your H-1B visa.” Trump also announced he will start selling a "gold card” visa with a path to US citizenship for $1 million after vetting. For companies, it will cost $2 million to sponsor an employee. The "Trump Platinum Card” will be available for a $5 million and allow foreigners to spend up to 270 days in the US without being subject to US taxes on non-US income.

Trump announced a $5 million gold card in February to replace an existing investor visa - this is now the platinum card. Lutnick said the gold and platinum cards would replace employment-based visas that offer paths to citizenship, including for professors, scientists, artists and athletes. Critics of H-1Bs visas who say they are used to replace American workers applauded the move. U.S. Tech Workers, an advocacy group, called it "the next best thing” to abolishing the visas altogether. Doug Rand, a senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, said the proposed fee increase was "ludicrously lawless.”