The Trump administration has approved just one Gold Card visa under a program that grants U.S. residency to non-citizens at a cost of $1 million, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday, stressing that hundreds more had applied.
In December, U.S. President Donald Trump launched the “Trump Gold” visa program, which allows applicants to pay a $15,000 fee to the Department of Homeland Security for expedited processing. After going through a background check or vetting process, applicants must pay a $1 million “contribution” to receive a visa, similar to a green card, allowing them to live and work in the United States.
“They recently approved one person and there are hundreds of others that are waiting in line for that process,” Lutnick said during a congressional hearing.
“This is a new program, they’ve just set it up, and they want to make sure it’s done perfectly,” he added, noting that the process includes “rigorous review.”
In December, Lutnick told Reuters that about 10,000 people had signed up for the Gold Card during the pre-registration period and he expected many more to do so. “I expect that over time we will sell thousands of these cards and raise billions of dollars,” he added at the time.
