Immigration Lawyer Blog
The Gold Card permanent residence program is now open. Under this initiative, foreign nationals—or their employers—may apply for lawful permanent residence by:
- Paying a non-refundable $15,000 processing fee for each applicant and dependent, and
- Making a gift donation of $1 million for individual applicants, or $2 million for corporate-sponsored applicants to the U.S. Treasury.
These contributions are not investments— they are treated as unconditional gifts.
The program, established by presidential executive order 14351, allows eligibility for a green card under the existing EB-1 (extraordinary ability) or EB-2 (National Interest Waiver) categories based on the qualifying donation.
Application Process
Applicants start with by submitting their initial information, along with payment of the $15,000 processing fee (per applicant) on the Gold Card website.
USCIS then notifies applicants when they can file Form I-140G on the USCIS website to verify lawful source of funds. Once the applicant demonstrates the lawful source of funds and passes security vetting, the applicant or sponsor will receive instructions to submit the required $1 million (individual) or $2 million (corporate) donation to the Department of Treasury via ACH debit or SWIFT wire.
Once approved and a visa number is available, applicants proceed with consular processing for their immigrant visa.
Corporate Sponsorship
Employer Gold Card sponsors will be subject to a 1% annual maintenance fee – presumably, 1% of the employer’s $2 million donation ($20,000). If the employer decides to transfer its donation to a different foreign national, a 5% transfer fee would apply ($100,000).
The government has not yet indicated whether the “annual” maintenance fee must be paid until the foreign national obtains their green card.