Trump cuts Gold Card residency price to $1M, fueling demand

President Donald Trump’s decision to cut the cost of his new Gold Card program has sparked major interest from rich families around the world who want fast access to U.S. residency.

Trump signed papers last week to officially start the Gold Card program, which now costs $1 million instead of the original $5 million price he announced in February. The card promises to give buyers residency much faster than the usual methods.

The price drop has made the Gold Card one of the cheapest ways for wealthy people to get into America compared to similar programs in other countries. Singapore charges nearly $8 million for its investment visa program, while New Zealand asks for just under $3 million. Even small Samoa requires $1.4 million.

Reaz Jafri, who works at the law firm Withers, thinks the new price might be too low. “You get access to the U.S. education system, health care system, banking system, and financial markets, all for $1 million,” he said as quoted in a CNBC report.

Rich families are already showing strong interest in the program.Jafri spoke at a conference in Singapore this week where three families approached him right away about buying Gold Cards. Two families were from China and one from India. He believes his office will work on hundreds of cases once the program begins operating.

According to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, officials plan to give out 80,000 Gold Cards. Along with a future Platinum Card and new H-1B visa fees that jumped to $100,000, these programs should bring in $100 billion for the federal government.

Gold Card still faces some big problems

Even though Trump announced it at the White House on Friday, there’s no way to apply for it yet. The website that started in June only asks for basic information like names and home countries. People who signed up say they haven’t heard anything back yet.

Courts and Congress will likely challenge the program. Since Congress makes immigration laws, Trump had to use existing visa programs called EB-1 and EB-2 as the foundation for his Gold Card.

The shaky legal ground might make wealthy buyers hesitant at first. Many will probably wait to see the first Gold Cards actually given out before spending their money. Some might wait even longer.

Dominic Volek from Henley & Partners said wealthy clients usually want to see programs running smoothly for three to six months before they commit. “People don’t want to be the first one to try it,” he explained.

China and India face major roadblocks

Volek has already gotten questions from clients and thinks the program could attract 5,000 to 10,000 applications each year.

The timing works well for the global visa market. As wars and political problems increase worldwide, very rich people are buying backup citizenships and residences as protection against troubles in their home countries.

About 142,000 millionaires are expected to move to other countries in 2025, according to research from New World Wealth and Henley & Partners. America ranks as the second most popular destination, with 7,500 millionaires expected to arrive this year. Most come from Asia, the U.K., and Latin America.

Immigration advisers say most Gold Card demand will come from China and India. But people from those countries might face disappointment. The EB-1 and EB-2 programs that form the Gold Card’s base already have huge waiting lists from Chinese and Indian applicants that stretch for years.

If Gold Card buyers can skip ahead because of their $1 million donation, people who have been waiting could file lawsuits. At the same time, Gold Card buyers won’t want to spend $1 million if they have to wait years for approval.

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