The Trump Gold Card Explained: How It Works, What It Costs, and Whether It's Legal

The Trump Gold Card is a green card route created by executive order in September 2025: you pay a $15,000 USCIS filing fee for Form I-140G and, after vetting, make a $1 million “gift” to the US government ($2 million if a company sponsors you). It uses existing EB-1 and EB-2 visa numbers rather than creating new ones. As of October 2026 it is operating, but a federal lawsuit challenging its legality is pending.

Key points

• Created by Executive Order 14351 (September 19, 2025); applications opened December 10, 2025 through trumpcard.gov.
• Costs: $15,000 nonrefundable I-140G fee per person, plus a $1M individual or $2M corporate-sponsored gift; dependents pay extra.
• Approved applicants get a green card in the EB-1 or EB-2 category, so visa backlogs still apply.
• A government court filing reported in May 2026 showed 338 applications, 165 paid fees, and 59 moving to documentation.
• Lawsuit pending in federal court in Washington, DC (AAUP v. DHS); no ruling blocking the program had been reported as of October 2026.

How the Gold Card works

Executive Order 14351 directs the government to treat a large gift to the US as evidence of exceptional business ability and national benefit, which are concepts in the existing EB-1 and EB-2 categories (Federal Register text). In other words, the program does not create a new visa category; it routes applicants into EB-1 and EB-2.

The application steps

Based on the process published at launch (BAL summary):

1. Register at trumpcard.gov.
2. Pay the $15,000 filing fee per person on trumpcard.gov.
3. Wait for a USCIS notice telling you to create or log into a USCIS online account.
4. File Form I-140G online. Paper filing is not accepted.
5. Complete vetting, including background checks.
6. Receive an invitation to pay the gift ($1M or $2M).
7. After I-140G approval, apply for an immigrant visa at a US embassy or consulate, or adjust status if eligible, when a visa number is available.

What it costs

Item	Amount
Form I-140G filing fee (USCIS), per person	$15,000, nonrefundable
Gift, individual applicant	$1,000,000
Gift, corporate-sponsored applicant	$2,000,000
Dependents (spouse, children)	Additional payments per dependent
Immigrant visa or adjustment fees	Standard State Department or USCIS fees

The $15,000 I-140G fee is listed on the USCIS fee schedule. A “Platinum Card,” floated alongside the Gold Card, would require action by Congress and does not exist as of October 2026.

The backlog catch

Because Gold Card holders use EB-1 and EB-2 numbers, the Visa Bulletin still applies. In October 2026:

Category	Most countries	China	India
EB-1 Final Action	Current	01JUL23	01FEB23
EB-2 Final Action	01JAN25	01OCT21	01NOV13

An Indian or Chinese national could pay the gift and still wait years for a visa number, depending on how USCIS assigns priority dates for I-140G petitions. Ask an attorney how this would apply to you before paying. See our October 2026 Visa Bulletin summary.

How many people have applied

Public data is limited. According to a government court filing reported by the Washington Post in May 2026 and summarized by the Immigration Policy Tracking Project:

• 338 applications submitted
• 165 paid the $15,000 filing fee
• 59 advanced to the DHS documentation stage

Other reports in spring 2026 suggested very few approvals so far. USCIS has not published official approval statistics that we could find.

Is it legal? The lawsuit

On February 3, 2026, the American Association of University Professors and individual researchers sued DHS, the State Department and the Commerce Department in the US District Court for the District of Columbia (American Association of University Professors v. DHS, No. 26-cv-00300). The United Auto Workers joined in an amended complaint on May 18, 2026. The plaintiffs argue:

• The program bypasses the merit-based criteria Congress wrote for EB-1 and EB-2.
• The executive branch cannot sell green cards without congressional authorization.
• The program violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

As of October 11, 2026, we found no court order blocking the program; reports indicate the case was fully briefed by September 2026. A ruling could stop new filings or affect pending ones. Some immigration lawyers have advised clients to wait for the court’s decision before paying.

Other 2026 developments: USCIS proposed revisions to Form I-140G in March 2026 asking for more information about corporate sponsors, and in June 2026 DHS and State created new admission codes for Gold Card permanent residents.

Gold Card vs EB-5

	Gold Card	EB-5
Legal basis	Executive order, under legal challenge	Statute (EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022)
Money	$1M or $2M gift plus $15,000 fee	$800,000 or $1,050,000 investment plus $3,675 filing fee
Get money back?	No	Possibly, depending on the project
Job creation	Not required	10 full-time jobs per investor
Visa numbers	EB-1 / EB-2	EB-5, with set-asides current for all countries in October 2026
Conditional green card?	No conditional period described	Yes, 2 years, then Form I-829

For many investors from India and China, EB-5 set-aside categories were current in October 2026 while EB-1 and EB-2 were backlogged. See our EB-5 investor visa guide and our EB-1 vs EB-2 vs EB-3 comparison.

What to do next

1. Compare the Gold Card, EB-5 and, if you have the record for it, EB-1A, with a licensed immigration attorney.
2. Check your country’s EB-1 and EB-2 dates in the current Visa Bulletin.
3. Watch the AAUP v. DHS case before paying the gift; follow our US hub and updates page.
4. Use only official sites (trumpcard.gov, uscis.gov). Be wary of agents promising guaranteed approval.