Donald Trump’s $1mn gold card visa fails to excite the world’s rich
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Solely 338 individuals have submitted requests for Donald Trump’s $1mn Gold Card visa, the scheme for expedited US residency, that was launched final 12 months with nice fanfare.
In a court docket submitting, justice division officers wrote that the programme had “not impacted the processing” of different visas, which have attracted tens of hundreds of functions.
The officers wrote that 165 individuals had paid the $15,000 visa processing charge and 59 had moved to a subsequent stage with the Division of Homeland Safety, which is vetting candidates together with the state division.
Final week, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick testified earlier than Congress that only one individual had been accredited for the expedited visa, whereas “a whole lot” had been “within the queue”. The commerce division has not revealed the identification of the primary Gold Card visa recipient.
When the scheme was introduced, Lutnick mentioned it will exchange the EB-5 visa scheme for overseas buyers. He later mentioned 200,000 visas might internet $1tn for the Treasury division.
“Rich individuals shall be coming into our nation by shopping for this card,” Trump mentioned on the programme’s launch. “They’ll be rich and so they’ll achieve success, and so they’ll be spending some huge cash and paying a variety of taxes and using lots of people.”
The scheme has been challenged in a lawsuit by the American Affiliation of College Professors, which claims the Gold Card programme unlawfully replaces the prevailing merit-based system and as a substitute sells visas to the rich.
Lutnick has mentioned the preliminary concept for the visa got here from billionaire Trump donor John Paulson as a method to increase authorities income and assist it pay down its $37tn nationwide debt.
In March 2025, the commerce secretary advised the All-In podcast that he had “offered a thousand” visas, which he dubbed the Trump Card, and mentioned the president thought he might promote one million at $5mn every.
“That’s $5tn,” Lutnick advised the podcasters.
In June of final 12 months, the commerce division launched the trumpcard.gov web site for would-be candidates to offer primary contact data, together with their title, e mail handle and area of the world. Lutnick advised the FT that just about 70,000 individuals rapidly expressed curiosity within the visa.
In December, the administration lowered the worth of the Gold Card to $1mn, saying it will purchase “US residency in report time”. The federal government web site additionally pitched a Trump Platinum Card “coming quickly” for $5mn, which might enable the holder “to spend as much as 270 days in the US with out being topic to US taxes on non-US earnings”.
In January, rapper Nicki Minaj thanked Trump for giving her a “free” Gold Card visa. Officers later clarified to The New York Occasions that it was a “memento” and that Minaj was already a authorized everlasting resident who might apply for citizenship.
A consultant for DHS referred the FT to the commerce division, which didn’t reply to requests for remark.
