A high-profile immigration initiative launched by US President Donald Trump has marked its first formal approval, with only one applicant successfully clearing the process for the administration’s signature $1 million ‘gold card’ residency visa to date, the nation’s top commerce official told lawmakers this week.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made the disclosure Thursday during a hearing before the US House of Representatives, updating Congress on the status of a program that has sparked intense debate since its unveiling last year. First ordered into creation by Trump in September 2024, the gold card scheme offers permanent US residency in exchange for a flat entry fee. It opened its application portal to prospective candidates in December 2024.
Beyond the single completed approval, Lutnick confirmed that hundreds of additional candidates are currently moving through the multi-stage review pipeline. All applicants face not just the steep financial cost, but also rigorous background screening. The program sets a $1 million fee for individual applicants, while corporate sponsorship of candidates carries a $2 million price tag. Applicants must also cover a separate $15,000 processing fee charged by the US Department of Homeland Security, and all submissions undergo what Lutnick described as ‘most serious vetting and analysis.’
The gold card program was paired with another Trump immigration policy: a new $100,000 annual fee added to the popular H-1B skilled worker visa program for foreign employees. When first announcing the initiative, Trump framed it as a measure that would attract high-impact job creators to the US while generating new revenue to help cut the federal national deficit.
The update on the gold card program comes amid broader shifts in US immigration policy under Trump’s second term. Since returning to the presidency in 2025, the administration has pushed for stricter immigration controls and carried out a series of large-scale, aggressive deportation raids across the country.