United States: USCIS and State Department Advance Toward Launch of New Gold Card Permanent Residency Program
Key Highlights:
- A new USCIS application form tied to the upcoming Gold Card program — which will allow foreign nationals to obtain U.S. permanent residency by contributing $1 million individually or $2 million through a corporate sponsor — has passed federal review, marking a major step toward making the program available.
- The U.S. State Department has also submitted a complementary immigrant visa application (DS-260G) for expedited federal review. Approved Gold Card applicants would use this form to pursue their green card at a U.S. consulate abroad.
- President Trump has directed that the Gold Card program be fully operational by December 18, with more guidance expected soon.
What’s Changing?
How the Gold Card Program Works
- Individual applicants can qualify a foreign national for U.S. permanent residence by donating $1 million.
- Corporate sponsors can petition on behalf of a foreign national by contributing $2 million.
Eligible beneficiaries would obtain a green card under either the EB-1 extraordinary ability category or the EB-2 National Interest Waiver category, depending on which classification best fits their profile.
Further implementation details, processing steps, and timelines are expected to be released in the coming weeks as federal agencies finalize the program.
Details on the Proposed Gold Card Application Process
- Submitting a Gold Card application to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
- Paying a nonrefundable fee of $15,000 per applicant via pay.gov.
- Filing Form I-140G with USCIS, which will serve as the primary petition for the new immigrant visa category.
USCIS will rely on Form I-140G to determine whether a foreign national qualifies for the new immigrant category and to verify that all donated funds come from lawful sources. After USCIS approves the I-140G petition—and once an immigrant visa is available in the relevant category—the applicant must complete consular processing through the U.S. Department of State. This means attending an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate and applying for an immigrant visa using the forthcoming Form DS-260G, which is currently under emergency review by the Office of Management and Budget.
Notably, the draft instructions do not address whether Gold Card beneficiaries inside the United States will be able to pursue adjustment of status through USCIS, leaving that question open until further guidance is released.
What’s Next for the Gold Card Program?
The government has also provided no updates on a related Platinum Card program. While this option was not included in President Trump’s September executive order, it does appear on the Administration’s Gold Card program website. According to the site, the Platinum Card would permit a foreign national who makes a $5 million contribution to the U.S. government (plus processing fees) to reside in the United States for up to 270 days per year without incurring U.S. tax liability on non-U.S. income.
This update is for informational purposes only. For further guidance, please reach out to your immigration advisor at GreenCardGuys Law Group.
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