President Donald Trump has slashed the price of America’s new “Gold Card” residency visa from $5 million to $1 million, triggering a surge of interest from the global elite and reshaping competition in the $25 billion international residency and citizenship market.
Announced last week by executive order, the Gold Card promises residency approvals in “record time,” giving applicants access to the U.S. education, health care, and financial systems. Immigration attorneys and wealth advisors say the lower entry point makes it one of the most competitive so-called “golden visas” worldwide, cheaper than most similar programs, according to CNBC.
By comparison, Singapore’s investor visa program costs nearly $8 million, New Zealand’s new scheme is just under $3 million, and Samoa requires $1.4 million.
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“The Gold Card is almost too cheap,” said Reaz Jafri of international law firm Withers. “You get access to everything the U.S. has to offer, all for $1 million. It’s a pittance for many families. I think they should have kept it at $5 million to make it special.”
Demand Surges from Asia’s Wealthy
CNBC reports that already, lawyers say the phones are ringing. At a family office conference in Singapore, Jafri said he was approached by three families — two from China and one from India — who were eager to sign up. He expects his firm alone will process “hundreds” of applications once the first cards are issued.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration plans to issue 80,000 Gold Cards, projecting together with a proposed $5 million “Platinum Card” and higher H-1B visa fees to raise $100 billion in federal revenue.
But rollout has been uneven. Despite the White House announcement, no formal application process exists yet. The Gold Card website, live since June, allows pre-registration, but applicants say they’ve received no follow-up.
Legal Gray Zone
Immigration attorneys caution that the program rests on fragile legal ground. Because Congress controls immigration law, Trump used executive authority to create the Gold Card by repurposing the existing EB-1 and EB-2 visa categories. The $1 million fee is labeled an “unrestricted gift” to the U.S. government, rather than an official filing fee.
This workaround could spark lawsuits or congressional pushback, experts say. Applicants from China and India face additional complications, since EB-1 and EB-2 visas already have long backlogs for those nationalities.
“If Gold Card buyers skip ahead of the line, lawsuits are almost certain,” said Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners.
For that reason, many wealthy families may wait to see the first Gold Cards issued before wiring funds. “These things always take time to ramp up,” Volek said, predicting the program could eventually attract 5,000 to 10,000 applications annually.
Lessons from EB-5: A Troubled Predecessor
The Gold Card is not America’s first attempt at selling residency to investors. For decades, the U.S. ran the EB-5 Regional Center program, which offered green cards to foreigners who invested as little as $500,000 in projects that created at least 10 U.S. jobs. At its peak in the mid-2010s, the EB-5 drew thousands of wealthy Chinese families, who funded real estate projects in New York, California, and Florida.
But the EB-5 became mired in scandals. Projects failed to deliver, fraud proliferated, and backlogs for Chinese applicants stretched beyond a decade. Critics called it a “green card for sale” scheme that enriched developers more than the U.S. economy. Congress repeatedly threatened to shut it down, and in 2021, lawmakers allowed parts of the program to lapse before reviving it under tighter rules.
The Gold Card differs in key ways. Rather than tying funds to job-creating projects, Trump has set a flat $1 million “donation,” making it simpler but also stripping it of an economic multiplier. Its steep discount from the original $5 million price tag has made it instantly popular, while also raising questions about fairness compared to the EB-5, where thousands of families are still waiting after years in line.
For Trump, the Gold Card is also part of a broader ideological shift. By pairing it with a $100,000 H-1B visa fee hike, he has signaled that U.S. immigration under his watch should be reserved for the world’s wealthiest or highest-value individuals, not ordinary workers or students.
The Gold Card requires a non-refundable $1 million donation, unlike other golden visas structured as investments that can generate returns. And U.S. residency carries an additional sting: taxation on worldwide income, a policy that often deters ultra-wealthy foreigners.
To address this, the administration has floated a $5 million “Platinum Card,” allowing holders to spend up to 270 days a year in the U.S. without paying taxes on global income. Yet advisors are skeptical.
“Few will consider it worth $5 million just to spend an additional 91 days in the U.S.,” said David Lesperance of Lesperance Associates.
Still, interest is emerging from billionaires in Asia and the Middle East who want more U.S. presence without triggering IRS rules. Jafri said four Brazilian family offices have already inquired about the Platinum option.
A Hot Global Market
CNBC reports that the U.S. launch comes amid booming demand for “Plan B” residencies as geopolitical instability pushes wealthy families to diversify their citizenship. An estimated 142,000 millionaires will relocate globally in 2025, according to Henley & Partners and New World Wealth, with the U.S. ranking as the second-most popular destination after the UAE.
Most of the millionaires heading to the U.S. are from China, India, the U.K., and Latin America. But China and India face the bottleneck of America’s visa quotas, raising questions about whether Trump’s promises of “record time” residency will apply equally.
The Next Tier: A ‘Black Card’?
Some advisors argue the Gold Card’s relatively low entry point could pave the way for an ultra-premium option. Jafri suggested a “Black Card” priced at $20–25 million, exempting holders from estate tax.
“That would be a game changer. I bet 1,000 people would do it and they would bring all their assets to the U.S.,” he said.
However, the rush of inquiries from Asia’s wealthy suggests demand is real. But until the first Gold Cards are issued — and withstand inevitable legal and political challenges — the program remains more promise than product.
