Trump Administration Officially Launches the “Trump Gold Card”
At A Glance
On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, the Trump Administration officially launched the trumpcard.gov website stating that it is now accepting applications for the “Trump Gold Card.” Similarly, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released on the same day the Form I-140G, Immigrant Petition for the Gold Card Program.
Per the Administration, the “Trump Gold Card” is designed to provide an expedited pathway for wealthy foreign nationals — and employees of corporations — to obtain U.S. lawful permanent residency (green card) through a large financial gift to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The requisite gift for an individual applicant is $1 million. Corporations can sponsor one or more employees for the “Trump Corporate Gold Card” at $2 million per employee. In addition, corporations may later cease sponsoring one employee and can transfer the prior gift contribution to a new employee. The “Trump Corporate Gold Card” is subject to a 1% annual maintenance fee ($20,000) and a 5% transfer fee ($100,000), which includes the cost of a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) background check.
Immigrant Visa Classification
Successful individual applicants or corporate-sponsored employees will be classified under the EB-1A Alien of Extraordinary Ability or EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) categories. Per the Executive Order 14351, the Department of State (DOS) and the USCIS will treat the financial gift as evidence of eligibility for the EB-1A and EB-2 NIW.
Registration and Application Process
Individual applicants and corporate sponsors must register online at the trumpcard.gov website by submitting the online Gold Card application and paying the nonrefundable processing fee of $15,000 per individual applicant or employee. Family members of the individual applicant or the employee may also apply. Each family member is subject to an additional $15,000 processing fee and a $1 million gift.
After payment is received, the USCIS will contact the individual applicant or corporate sponsor to submit the Form I-140G through their USCIS online account with evidence of ability to pay the gift and source of funds. If approved after a thorough background check and vetting, the individual applicant or corporate sponsor will pay their financial gift.
The DOS will advance the approved applications for immigrant visa processing at the US consular posts abroad for successful individual applicants and corporate-sponsored employees, who are eligible for lawful permanent resident status, admissible to the United States, and have a visa number immediately available under the EB-1 and EB-2 categories. These visa applicants will submit the DOS’ new Form DS-260G immigrant visa application and undergo consular processing for the immigrant visa in their home country.
What this Means for Clients
The “Trump Gold Card” visa program offers an alternative pathway to lawful permanent resident status. However, the Administration’s claim that this is an expedited process appears to be a misnomer as approved individual applicants and corporate-sponsored employees may be constrained by the June 2025 travel ban for 19 countries, and by employment-based visa number availability under the EB-1 and EB-2 categories. EB-1 China and India and the EB-2 category for all countries are still experiencing significant visa number backlogs.
Additionally, the visa program’s instructions are silent as to whether individual applicants or corporate-sponsored employees present in the United States are eligible to apply for adjustment of status. Consular processing for the immigrant visa can take several months, depending on the consular post.
Despite the launch of the visa program, there are still many unanswered questions on the process, the statutory authority for the program, and how the program will impact visa number availability for employment-based visa categories. The Administration has not made any steps to create a new visa category or add additional numbers to the annual numerical limitation for employment-based visas, as to do so would require an act by Congress. It is likely that the visa program will face legal and administrative challenges.
We will continue to monitor the implementation of this visa program and will provide updates accordingly.