According to immigration lawyers, after President Trump reduced the price of the “Golden Card” from 5 million dollars to 1 million dollars, the “Golden Card” immediately became one of the hottest golden visas globally, attracting many wealthy individuals eager to try.
Last Friday (September 26), President Trump signed an executive order to officially launch the Golden Card program, promising to grant U.S. residency at a “record pace” and plans to issue 80,000 cards.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the Golden Card, Platinum Card, and the increased H-1B visa fees are expected to bring in revenue of 100 billion dollars for the federal government.
When Trump first announced the Golden Card in February this year, the price was set at 5 million dollars. Although the Golden Card website mentioned a future 5 million-dollar “Platinum Card” with additional tax benefits, the “Platinum Card” was not included in the executive order and was not mentioned in the White House press briefing.
Immigration advisors indicate that with the new discounted pricing and the promise of fast approval, the Golden Card is set to quickly become one of the most sought-after golden visas globally, priced lower than many other countries’ visas. For instance, Singapore’s investment visa program requires nearly 8 million dollars, New Zealand’s new investment visa program is slightly below 3 million dollars, and even Samoa’s investment visa demands 1.4 million dollars.
Reaz Jafri, an immigration advisor at the New York-based Withers law firm, expressed, “The Golden Card is simply too cheap, for just 1 million dollars, you can access the U.S. education, healthcare, banking system, and financial markets. This is a drop in the ocean for many families. I believe it should have remained at 5 million dollars to maintain its exclusivity.”
Jafri mentioned that three families, two from China and one from India, contacted him expressing interest in purchasing the Golden Card during a family office meeting in Singapore this week. Once the program is launched and validated, he expects his company alone to receive “hundreds of” Golden Card applications.
Despite the excitement surrounding the Golden Card program, challenges lie ahead. Currently, there is no formal application process in place as the official Golden Card program website went live in June, requesting basic information such as name and country of residence from potential applicants. However, registered users have reported not receiving any notifications as of yet.
As immigration laws are established by Congress, President Trump employed various legal maneuvers to create the Golden Card, including designing it based on the existing EB-1 and EB-2 mechanisms. The 1 million-dollar fee is defined as an “unrestricted donation” and not an official fee.
Immigration lawyers point out that this temporary legal status may cause hesitation among overseas wealthy individuals. They might prefer to wait until the first batch of Golden Cards is successfully issued before committing financially.
Dominic Volek, the global head of private clients at immigration consultancy firm Henley & Partners, stated, “Such programs always need some time to progress, people don’t want to be the first ones to try it out. Most of our clients observe for three to six months and only invest after seeing results.”
Moreover, compared to other similar programs globally, the U.S. Golden Card has its drawbacks. The 1 million-dollar donation is non-refundable, unlike visas from other countries which are considered as investments that can generate returns. Additionally, unlike most countries, the U.S. taxes global income of citizens and residents, even if the income is earned overseas.
Jafri believes that the Golden Card is more suitable for overseas wealthy children looking to attend university and stay in the U.S. for employment after graduation.
“Many children of overseas multimillionaires don’t want to manage family businesses; they want to become architects, doctors, or engineers, having a stable job,” stated Jafri. “Or they want to start a business in the U.S. The Golden Card is very appealing to this demographic.”