When President Donald Trump launched the “Gold Card” visa program last December, the official website promised that people could settle in the United States in “record time.” But new court filings suggest applicants who paid $1 million for a gold card won’t be able to get a visa sooner.
The Gold Card has been touted as a new type of investment visa that will generate revenue and draw tens of thousands of foreign millionaires and billionaires to the United States, but it has been plagued by delays and legal issues. In December, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick predicted the government would issue 80,000 gold cards, generating more than $100 billion in revenue.
But the Department of Homeland Security revealed in a legal filing last week that only 338 people have submitted applications for gold cards so far. Only 165 people paid the $15,000 visa processing fee.
The court filing also contradicted previous government statements regarding processing times. A key selling point of the Gold Card is fast approval. The website promised to get a visa in “record time” and in “weeks.” Gold card applicants receive no special treatment or faster approval than traditional visa applicants, according to court filings.
“Gold Card applicants will not necessarily have their applications adjudicated sooner than non-Gold Card applicants,” DHS said in its application.
Craig Becker, managing attorney at the Affirmative Litigation and Democracy Defense Fund, which is litigating the gold card’s legality, said the discrepancy stems from the program’s shaky legal status. To garner interest, the White House needed to promise a speedy process. While opposing the lawsuit, which claims the Gold Card replaces applicants in the government’s existing EB-1 and EB-2 programs, DHS argued that Gold Card applicants receive no priority or special treatment.
“We don’t know what the real answer is because there’s no transparency,” Becker said.
The Commerce Department and DHS declined to comment. Immigration lawyers said the program is still in its early stages and could ultimately be successful if it gains Congressional approval and a track record of approvals.
But the court filing is the latest challenge to a program that promises to cash in on the booming business of investment visas for the world’s wealthy. More millionaires and billionaires are on the move than ever before. According to Henley & Partners, 165,000 billionaires are expected to move to other countries in 2026. Geopolitical turmoil, higher taxes on the wealthy, and political discord are causing more wealthy people to seek backup plans and residence in other countries.
America remains a coveted destination for the world’s elite. The company’s existing investment visa program, EB-5, has long waiting lists and backlogs. Mr. Trump sought to raise money from demand by creating a new program that would offer residency in the form of a $1 million non-refundable gift to the government.
Because only Congress can make immigration laws, President Trump created the Gold Card through an executive order. This visa uses the existing visa categories EB-1 and EB-2, which are reserved for persons of extraordinary ability or national interest. With the Gold Card, applicants are automatically recognized as having special or extraordinary abilities after spending $1 million.
The lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors argues that because Congress limits the number of EB-1 and EB-2 visas issued each year, the Gold Card program locks out EB-1 and EB-2 applicants and “results in the denial of visas to qualified merit-based applicants.”
“This program is clearly illegal,” Becker said.
In response, DHS said the Gold Card program will not affect EB-1 and EB-2 applicants because there are enough visas and the Gold Card has dedicated processing staff.
The legal battle is one reason wealthy overseas remain wary of the program. Immigration lawyers who specialize in investment visas say their wealthy clients don’t want to risk $1 million until the Gold Card is reviewed in court or approved by Congress. Confusion about wait times only adds to their skepticism, they said.
“Without expedited processing, gold cards are unlikely to be attractive to individuals in the country in which they remain,” said Riaz Jafri, CEO of New York-based immigration consulting firm Dasein Advisors. “An expedited process would have been very attractive and a game changer for everyone.”
Lawyers said the problems with the Gold Card program have only increased interest in the existing investment visa program, EB-5, which has seen a surge in applications. The program provides U.S. residency in exchange for an investment of $800,000 to $1 million and creates at least 10 full-time jobs.
“International businesspeople already have access to the United States through nonimmigrant visas, which does not automatically expose the world’s wealth to U.S. taxes,” said David Lesperance of Lesperance and Associates. “Those who want to become taxpayers can already obtain green card status through the EB-5 program, which requires an investment rather than a donation.”
