Trump’s $1 million Gold Card fails to catch on among world’s wealthy
When President Donald Trump launched the campaign “Gold Card” visa program Last December, the official website promised US residency in “record time.” But a new court filing suggests that applicants who pay $1 million for a Gold Card may not get visas faster.
Gold CardTouted as a new type of investment visa that would boost income and attract tens of thousands of overseas millionaires and billionaires to the United States, the visa has faced delays and legal questions. In December, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick predicted the government would issue 80,000 Gold Cards and generate more than $100 billion in revenue.
However, the Department of Homeland Security disclosed in a legal filing last week that only 338 people have so far requested a Gold Card. Only 165 people paid the $15,000 visa processing fee.
The court filing also contradicted the government’s previous statements regarding processing time. The key selling point of the Gold Card is its fast approval. The website promised a visa in “record time” and “within weeks”. Gold Card applicants will not receive special treatment or faster approval times than traditional visa applicants, the court filing said.
“Gold Card applicants may not need to have their petitions adjudicated more quickly than non-Gold Card applicants,” DHS said in the filing.
Craig Becker, executive counsel of the Affirmative Action Democracy Defenders Fund, which has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Gold Card, said the contradiction stems from the precarious legal status of the program. To gain traction, the White House had to promise an expedited process. But DHS, which countered the lawsuit alleging that the Gold Card displaced applicants for the government’s existing EB-1 and EB-2 programs, argued that Gold Card applicants were not given priority or received any special treatment.
“We don’t know what the real answer is because there is no transparency,” Becker said.
The Department of Commerce and DHS declined to comment. Immigration lawyers have said the program is still in its infancy and could eventually succeed if it is approved by Congress and establishes a track record of approvals.
But the court filing is the latest challenge to a scheme that promises to cash in on the booming investment visa business for the world’s wealthy. More millionaires and billionaires are on the move than ever before. According to Henley & Partners, the number of millionaires expected to move to another country in 2026 has reached 165,000. Geopolitical turmoil, tax increases on the wealthy, and political disagreements have led more wealthy people to seek backup plans and reside in other countries.
America remains a sought-after destination for the global elite. The current investment visa program, EB-5, often has long waiting lists and backlogs. Trump tried to cash in on the demand by creating a new program that offered residency in exchange for a $1 million non-refundable gift to the government.
Because only Congress can set immigration law, Trump created the Gold Card through executive order. It uses existing visa categories EB-1 and EB-2, which are reserved for individuals with extraordinary abilities or national interests. Under the Gold Card, $1 million automatically qualifies the applicant as having a special or extraordinary ability.
The lawsuit filed by the American Association of University Professors alleged that because Congress limits the number of EB-1 and EB-2 visas each year, the Gold Card program will exclude EB-1 and EB-2 applicants and “result in the denial of visas to qualified, merit-based applicants.”
“The program is clearly illegal,” Becker said.
In its response, DHS said the Gold Card program has no impact on EB-1 and EB-2 applicants because there are oversupply of visas and the Gold Card has its own dedicated processing team.
The legal battle is one reason why wealthy overseas remain wary of the program. Immigration lawyers who specialize in investment visas said their high-net-worth clients don’t want to risk $1 million until the Gold Card is tested in the courts or approved by Congress. They said confusion about wait times would only increase their suspicions.
“Without expedited processing, the Gold Card is unlikely to be attractive to individuals in countries with backlogs,” said Reaz Jafri, CEO of Dasein Advisors, a New York-based immigration consultancy. “It would be very attractive to everyone with expedited transactions and would be a game changer.”
Advocates said the troubled Gold Card program has only increased interest in the existing investment visa program, EB-5, which has seen an increase in applications. The program provides U.S. residency in exchange for an investment of $800,000 to $1 million that will create at least 10 full-time jobs.
“International businesspeople already have access to the United States through nonimmigrant visas that do not automatically subject their global wealth to U.S. tax,” said David Lesperance of Lesperance & Associates. “Those who want to become taxpayers can already gain green card status thanks to the EB-5 program, which requires investment rather than donations.”
