Trump Gold Card Visa Program Inches Ahead After Form I-140G Approval

The Trump Gold Card visa program is one (small) step closer to reality now that the form to apply for the card has cleared a key approval.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) submitted a new Form I-140G, Immigrant Petition for the Gold Card Program, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. OMB has now granted emergency approval for USCIS to use the form for a limited period. The final form itself and official guidance are not yet published on the USCIS website.

Once the Trump Gold Card visa program is live, it will allow wealthy individuals to apply for a Green Card and have their application fast-tracked—after making a qualifying gift of $1 million. Companies sponsoring an employee could participate by making a $2 million gift. This process may also include an additional required gift for each dependent. 

Although the Trump Gold Card Program’s final application form and official guidance aren’t yet available, the draft petition and instructions give a clearer picture of how this fast-tracked path to a Green Card would work.

Form I-140G, explained by immigration lawyers 

The new draft Form I-140G is an immigrant petition specific to the Gold Card Program, with the “G” distinguishing it from the standard I-140. The draft form and its instructions were submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on November 18 and approved with changes on November 19 under emergency procedures for a new information collection.

At 24 pages, the draft Form I-140G is much longer and more complex than the regular Form I-140, which is nine pages. In addition to the usual biographic details, the I-140G adds new sections on the source of funds for the required gift, anti-money laundering and sanctions screening, and expanded employment, education, and marital history for the main applicant and each family member.

How much will applicants have to give for the Gold Card visa? 

The instructions confirm that petitioners will be required to show they can make an unrestricted gift of $1 million per person, including dependents (for self-petitioners) or $2 million for a corporate-sponsored principal plus $1 million per accompanying family member applying under the Gold Card program.

“It’s important to emphasize that the government is not asking for an investment here, but a gift,” says Nicole Gunara, Principal Immigration Attorney at Manifest Law. “This means that it’s possible that a failed application will not automatically equate to a refund as the funds belong to the United States upon the giving of the gift.”

For companies, the program could create a new way to win talent at the very top of newer industries.

“Companies may be interested in the program if it can help secure the futures of key executives, founders, and talent. Given that some industries are seeing intense competition and shortfalls (e.g. semiconductor research + manufacturing), a $2 million investment may make sense as part of that executive compensation package.”

OMB’s supporting statement for the I-140G information collection estimates about 1,000 filings per year. Separately, the draft instructions and OMB paperwork show that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will charge a nonrefundable immigrant petition fee of $15,000 per person requesting a Gold Card.

Form DS-260G, for Gold Card visa processing abroad, to come 

On the State Department side, a related immigrant visa application, Form DS-260G (Gold Visa Application), also has been approved by OMB, under emergency review. That filing estimates about 5,000 DS-260G applications per year and explains that DS-260G is based on the existing DS-260 immigrant visa application but adapted for Gold Card cases and the program’s donation requirements.

This indicates that, administratively, they plan to process an estimated 1,000 Gold Card applications plus Green Cards for their family members who also pay a $1 million per person gift.

The total anticipated applications indicated in the approval requests to OMB is still far short of the 80,000 Gold Cards that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly said would be available.

Will Trump’s Gold Card visa pathway shorten Green Card wait times?  

The I-140G instructions also make it clear that the petition is just the first step of the process. 

Even after USCIS approval, applications still need to refer to the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Bulletin to see when a visa number is available for their visa category, which would be either EB-1 or EB-2. For people approved for a Gold Card and outside the U.S. when a visa number is available, they can submit Form DS-260G to complete consular processing and become a lawful permanent resident.

In other words, the Gold Card may speed up the first part of the petition through an expedited process, but it does not change the Visa Bulletin line or the annual visa limits, which are still set by law. 

For applicants from countries without long EB-1 or EB-2 backlogs, this could shave some time off the overall process. For anyone from severely backlogged countries like India or China, however, the required gift (whether $1 million or $2 million through a corporate sponsor) does not meaningfully shorten the wait for a current priority date. For some, that could still take years.