Trump's $1M Gold Card Visa Approves Only One Person Despite $1.3B Claim
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced the single approval at congressional hearing, failing to address earlier boast of billions in sales
Quick Look
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified Thursday that only one person has been approved for Trump's gold card visa program, despite his earlier claim in December that the government had sold US$1.3 billion worth within days of launch.
- The $1 million visa is meant to replace the EB-5 investor program and attract wealthy foreigners, though hundreds remain in the queue.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The gold card visa program was announced by Trump last year as a replacement for the decades-old EB-5 program, which offered US visas to people who invested about $1 million in companies creating at least 10 jobs. Trump initially suggested a $5 million price tag before settling on $1 million.
US President Donald Trump's "gold card" visa, where a foreigner can shell out at least US$1 million to legally live and work in the US, has been approved for one person, said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Thursday – appearing to fall a bit short of an earlier claim. After it launched in December, Lutnick said that the government had sold US$1.3 billion "worth" in just several days, as Trump stood by holding up the gilded ticket and said, "essentially it's the green card on steroids." Lutnick did not address the apparent discrepancy in an exchange with a congresswoman at Thursday's committee hearing. Trump pushed the idea last year, initially suggesting a cost of US$5 million, and arguing that it would entice foreign talent to US shores and fill out federal coffers. It is meant to replace the EB-5 programme, a decades-old programme that offered US visas to people who invested about US$1 million in a company with at least 10 employees. Though only one person has been approved, "there are hundreds in the queue that they are going through", Lutnick said, appearing pleased with the programme's results, at a congressional committee hearing on Thursday.
Open Questions
- Why did actual approvals fall so far short of the claimed $1.3 billion in sales?
- Are the 'hundreds in the queue' genuinely interested buyers or speculative applications?
- What verification processes are in place for gold card applicants?
