- The Gold Card was created by executive action, not Congress. It rests on Executive Order 14351 ("The Gold Card," signed September 19, 2025) and channels applicants into the existing EB-1 and EB-2 NIW categories rather than creating new visa numbers.
- Pricing is steep and largely nonrefundable. Individuals pay a $15,000 processing fee plus a $1 million "gift" to the government. The employer-sponsored version costs $15,000 plus a $2 million gift per employee, with additional annual and transfer fees.
- No new visa numbers means backlogs still apply. Because Gold Card applicants draw from capped EB-1 and EB-2 pools, applicants from heavily backlogged countries such as India and China can still wait years, and the government has acknowledged there is no guaranteed processing speed advantage.
- Holders are taxed like any green card holder. Gold Card recipients are subject to U.S. tax on worldwide income. The separately proposed "Platinum Card," which floated a foreign-income tax break, is not operational.
- Uptake has been very low and the program faces a legal challenge. As of June 2026 the program has drawn a few hundred applicants and a single approval.A federal lawsuit American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security, No. 1:26-cv-00300-RJL (D.D.C.), argues the program exceeds executive authority. The government's motion to dismiss is pending before Judge Richard J. Leon as of June 2026.
- Merit-based visas remain far cheaper and legally settled. Options like the O-1, EB-1, EB-2 NIW, H-1B, L-1, TN, E-2, and E-3 cost a small fraction of the Gold Card. Alma files these at flat fees ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.
The Trump Gold Card is a pay-for-priority immigration program that lets a wealthy individual, or a company sponsoring an employee, obtain U.S. permanent residence by making a large payment to the federal government. It was created by executive action in September 2025 and opened for applications in December 2025. Despite the "card" branding, it is not a new visa category. It repackages two existing employment-based green cards, the EB-1 and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver, and treats the payment as supporting evidence. This guide explains what the Gold Card is, what it costs, what it does and does not provide, where the program stands in June 2026, and how it compares to the merit-based pathways most high-skilled professionals and the employers who hire them actually use.
What Is the Trump Gold Card Visa?
The Gold Card began as a February 2025 proposal pitched as a replacement for the EB-5 investor visa, originally priced at $5 million per person. Over the following months the price was cut and the structure changed. In September 2025, the program was formalized through Executive Order 14351, signed on September 19, 2025, which directed the Departments of Commerce, State, and Homeland Security to build it. Applications opened on December 10, 2025 through a dedicated government portal, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a new form, Form I-140G, to process petitions.
The most important fact to understand is that the Gold Card is not its own visa. Congress holds the authority to create immigration categories and set their requirements, and the executive branch did not change that. Instead, the program uses an existing federal gift-acceptance statute (15 U.S.C. § 1522) to treat a large payment as evidence supporting an application under two categories Congress already created: the EB-1 for individuals of extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, and multinational executives, and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver for advanced-degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability whose work serves the national interest.
How the Gold Card Actually Works
A Gold Card applicant is still applying for an EB-1 or EB-2 green card. The payment does not replace the legal standard for those categories. A government officer cannot approve a petition on money alone, which means the applicant must still present a credible case that they qualify under the underlying category. For most applicants, that requires the same kind of evidence any EB-1A petition or EB-2 NIW petition would require, including documentation of achievements, qualifications, and the value of their work.
Because the program operates inside the existing employment-based system, it is bound by the annual visa limits and the per-country caps that Congress set in the immigration statute. The executive order itself acknowledges that it works within those statutory limits. In practice, this means the Gold Card creates no extra capacity. Applicants compete for the same green card numbers as everyone else in the EB-1 and EB-2 lines.
Gold Card Versus the Proposed Platinum Card
A second tier, informally called the "Platinum Card," has been described at a roughly $5 million price point. The stated concept was that holders could spend up to around 270 days per year in the United States without paying U.S. tax on income earned outside the country. As of June 2026, the Platinum Card is a proposal only. It was not part of the executive order, no application exists, and officials have indicated it would likely require congressional action, which the executive branch cannot accomplish on its own. No implementing legislation has passed as of June 2026.
Trump Gold Card Cost and Fees in 2026
The Gold Card carries two distinct cost structures, one for individuals and one for companies sponsoring employees. The headline numbers do not include the standard government filing fees and third-party costs that apply to any green card case.
Individual Gold Card
An individual applicant pays a $15,000 processing fee, which is nonrefundable, at the start of the process. After passing vetting, the applicant transfers a $1 million payment to the government, characterized as a gift rather than a refundable investment. Each accompanying family member, meaning a spouse or an unmarried child under 21, requires a separate $15,000 fee and an additional $1 million payment. A family of four, therefore, faces a payment obligation in the range of $4 million plus $60,000 in fees.
Employer-Sponsored Gold Card
The corporate version is built for companies that want to secure permanent residence for a key employee. The employer pays a $15,000 fee plus a $2 million payment per sponsored employee, double the individual gift amount. The corporate structure adds two ongoing costs: a 1 percent annual maintenance fee and a 5 percent transfer fee that applies if the company reassigns the sponsorship to a different employee, which also triggers a fresh background check. The transfer feature lets an employer move a sponsorship to a new hire without making another multi-million-dollar payment, which is the main reason a company might choose the corporate route over having the individual self-fund.
Important: None of these amounts include the underlying government filing fees, biometrics costs, consular fees, or third-party expenses such as credential evaluations and translations. The large payments are not investments that can be recovered. Unlike the EB-5 program, where capital is placed at risk in a business and can potentially be returned, the Gold Card payment is a one-way transfer to the government.
What the Gold Card Gives You, and What It Does Not
A successful Gold Card applicant receives lawful permanent residence, the same green card that any approved EB-1 or EB-2 applicant receives. That carries the standard rights of a permanent resident, including the right to live and work anywhere in the United States, and a path to citizenship through naturalization, generally after five years of permanent residence, or three years if married to a U.S. citizen.
What the Gold Card does not provide is also significant. It does not create a faster lane that bypasses the visa backlog, because applicants pull from the same capped categories. It does not offer a special tax status. Gold Card holders are subject to U.S. tax on their worldwide income, exactly like any other green card holder. Early commentary suggested the program might exempt foreign income from U.S. tax, but that feature was attached only to the unreleased Platinum Card proposal, and as of June 2026 no guidance implementing any such exemption exists. The worldwide-income rule applies to Gold Card holders in the same way it applies to other lawful permanent residents.
Current Status: Where the Program Stands in June 2026
The gap between the program's projections and its actual results is large. In December 2025, the Commerce Secretary projected that the program would issue 80,000 Gold Cards and raise more than $100 billion. The results have not matched those projections.
As of spring 2026, there have been fewer applicants for the Gold Card than expected. A sworn government declaration filed with the April 28, 2026 motion to dismiss in the program's litigation reported that 338 people had submitted requests to begin an application, 165 had paid the processing fee, and 59 had filed the petition. Separately, the Commerce Secretary testified before Congress in April 2026 that one applicant had been approved. The Department of Homeland Security also acknowledged in court that Gold Card petitions would not necessarily be adjudicated faster than ordinary petitions, which undercut the program's central promise of speed. Promotional figures circulated by officials have at times conflicted with these disclosures, so the program's filings provide a more reliable picture than its marketing.
The Legal Challenge
On February 3, 2026, the American Association of University Professors, joined by a group of immigrant professionals, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security, No. 1:26-cv-00300-RJL (D.D.C.), assigned to Judge Richard J. Leon), arguing that the program is unlawful. The core argument is that only Congress can create a visa category and define its eligibility, and that allowing a payment to substitute for the statutory criteria of the EB-1 and EB-2 categories violates federal immigration and administrative law, including the notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. The plaintiffs also argue the program diverts a limited number of merit-based green cards toward those able to pay. The United Auto Workers joined the case through an amended complaint in May 2026.
As of June 2026, no court has ruled on the merits, and no injunction has stopped the program from operating. The government's motion to dismiss, filed on April 28, 2026, focused on whether the plaintiffs have standing rather than defending the program's legality directly, and briefing is expected to continue into late 2026. Because the entry cost is measured in millions of nonrefundable dollars and the program rests on an executive order rather than a statute, its long-term status remains uncertain.
Gold Card Versus EB-5 and Merit-Based Visas
The Gold Card was originally pitched as a replacement for EB-5, but as of June 2026 the EB-5 program remains fully in force. Because Congress created EB-5, only Congress can end it, which gives it a legal stability the Gold Card lacks.
Gold Card Versus EB-5
The two programs differ in structure. EB-5 requires an at-risk investment in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least ten jobs, with investment thresholds set by statute (currently $800,000 in a targeted employment area or $1,050,000 otherwise, with a scheduled inflation adjustment on January 1, 2027), and the invested capital can potentially be returned. EB-5 also carries its own dedicated visa numbers, including set-aside categories for rural and high-unemployment projects that have remained available even for applicants from backlogged countries. The Gold Card, by contrast, requires a nonrefundable payment with no job-creation or business requirement, and it draws from the existing EB-1 and EB-2 pools rather than supplying new numbers. One consequence of the Gold Card's rollout has been renewed interest in EB-5 among investors who prefer a program grounded in statute.
Merit-Based Alternatives for Talent and Employers
Most high-skilled professionals, and the companies recruiting them, may already qualify for a merit-based category at a small fraction of the Gold Card's cost. The categories below cover the large majority of skilled-talent cases:
- O-1A and O-1B: For individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, business, athletics, education, or the arts. There is no annual cap and no lottery, and premium processing provides a decision or other action, rather than a guaranteed approval, within 15 business days. USCIS processing times apply uniformly nationwide rather than varying by office and are published at USCIS processing times. The O-1 is also a common stepping stone to an EB-1A green card.
- EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-1C: Direct green card categories for individuals of extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, and multinational executives and managers. These are often current for applicants from most countries.
- EB-2 NIW: For advanced-degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability whose work serves the national interest. The National Interest Waiver lets qualified applicants self-petition without employer sponsorship and without labor certification.
- H-1B, L-1, TN, E-2, and E-3: Temporary work visas covering specialty occupations, intracompany transfers, professionals from Canada and Mexico under the TN category, treaty investors under the E-2, and Australian specialists under the E-3.
How Alma Supports Talent and Employers
Alma is a tech-enabled, attorney-led immigration platform built for high-skilled talent and the companies that hire them. Instead of a multi-million-dollar payment, Alma files merit-based cases at transparent flat fees published on its pricing page: an O-1 new petition is $8,000, an H-1B cap case is $3,500, an L-1 initial petition is $6,000, a TN is $3,000, and an E-3 is $3,500. EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-1C, and EB-2 NIW are each $10,000, or $7,000 for an EB-1 or EB-2 NIW filed with an approved O-1. Each fee includes the response to a Request for Evidence, administrative costs, attorney consultations, and platform access. As a point of comparison, sponsoring one employee through an O-1 plus EB-1A or EB-2 NIW path totals well under $20,000 in legal fees, against a $2 million Gold Card payment for one employee. Explore options for individuals or businesses.
Considerations for Individuals and Employers
Several factors distinguish the Gold Card from merit-based pathways, including whether an applicant independently qualifies on the merits, the nonrefundable nature of the payment, and country of birth.
For Individuals
The Gold Card leads to the same EB-1A or EB-2 NIW green card available through a standard petition. Because the payment cannot substitute for the legal standard, an officer must still find that the applicant meets the category, and a payment does not change the strength of a case that does not otherwise qualify. Applicants born in India or China remain subject to the same per-country backlog after paying, with no guaranteed speed benefit. The $15,000 processing fee is nonrefundable and the multi-million-dollar payment cannot be recovered, and as of June 2026 the litigation is unresolved with one approval on record.
For Employers
For companies, the established employment-based categories cost far less, rest on settled law, and do not tie up nonrefundable capital per hire. The Gold Card requires a multi-million-dollar nonrefundable payment per sponsored employee that would be lost if the program were struck down. As of June 2026, the program's terms continue to be refined and the litigation is unresolved.
In summary: As of June 2026, the Gold Card is operational but legally untested, expensive, and nonrefundable, and it offers no special tax treatment or guaranteed processing speed. Merit-based categories provide the same permanent residence, or temporary work authorization, at a fraction of the cost and rest on settled law. Because the program is based on an executive order rather than a statute, it could also be modified or rescinded by executive action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the program is operational and accepting applications, but it is not a standalone visa. It routes applicants into the existing EB-1 or EB-2 National Interest Waiver categories and uses a large payment as supporting evidence. The program was created by executive action rather than by Congress, and it is the subject of a federal lawsuit, American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security, challenging its legality. As of June 2026, uptake has been very low, only one applicant has been approved, the program remains legally untested, and the payments are nonrefundable.
An individual pays a $15,000 nonrefundable processing fee plus a $1 million payment to the government, with separate fees and payments for each family member. The employer-sponsored version costs $15,000 plus a $2 million payment per employee, along with a 1 percent annual fee and a 5 percent fee to transfer the sponsorship to a different employee. None of these amounts include standard government filing fees or third-party costs, and the large payments cannot be recovered.
Yes. Gold Card holders are lawful permanent residents and are subject to U.S. tax on their worldwide income, the same as any other green card holder. The foreign-income tax break that received attention was tied to the separate "Platinum Card" proposal, which is not operational as of June 2026 and would likely require an act of Congress.
Not necessarily. Because Gold Card applicants draw from the same capped EB-1 and EB-2 visa pools and are subject to the same per-country limits, applicants from backlogged countries such as India and China can still wait years. The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged in court that Gold Card petitions will not necessarily be processed faster than ordinary ones, which contradicts the program's original speed marketing.
Merit-based categories cost far less and rest on settled law. The O-1 suits individuals with extraordinary ability and has no cap or lottery. The EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-1C lead directly to a green card, and the EB-2 NIW lets qualified professionals self-petition. For temporary work, the H-1B, L-1, TN, E-2, and E-3 cover most situations. Alma files these at flat fees from $3,000 to $10,000, far below the Gold Card's multi-million-dollar payment. You can schedule a consultation to learn which categories may fit a given profile.
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