The $1M Trump Gold Card Is Here: Which Tier Fits You Best?

The Trump Gold Card is a newly announced immigration pathway requiring a minimum $1 million contribution to the US government, offering permanent residency under EB-1/EB-2 categories without the traditional job creation demands of EB-5.

Alongside the Gold Card, Trump has also unveiled the Corporate Gold Card and the higher-tier Platinum Card, each with distinct costs, tax rules, and residency benefits.

Key points this article covers include:

• How do you qualify for a Gold Card?
• Is the trump gold card in effect now?
• How much does the Gold Card cost?
• What is the difference between EB-5 and Golden visa?

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La información contenida en este artículo es meramente orientativa. No constituye asesoramiento financiero, jurídico o fiscal, ni una recomendación o solicitud de inversión. Algunos hechos pueden haber cambiado desde el momento de su redacción.

What Is a Gold Card in the US?

En Gold Card is part of the Trump administration’s newly announced immigration scheme, framed as a high-cost pathway to lawful permanent resident status in the United States.

Under the executive order issued in September 2025, applicants must make a $1 million gift to the Department of Commerce plus pay a vetting fee.

Unlike a standard visa fee, the contribution is treated as a donation to the federal government earmarked for promoting commerce.

The order directs that this donation be accepted as evidence for eligibility under EB-1 (extraordinary ability) or EB-2 (advanced degree/national interest waiver) immigrant categories, allowing applicants to be considered for green card status.

Holders of the Gold Card are to be taxed in the same manner as other permanent residents and citizens, though details of enforcement and interaction with existing tax treaties remain to be clarified.

This program replaces an earlier idea floated in February 2025 for a single $5 million Trump gold card and instead introduces three tracks:

• Gold Card – Requires a $1 million gift to the Department of Commerce. It is the entry-level option, meant for wealthy individuals who want a direct path to permanent residency without the job creation hurdles of EB-5. Gold Card holders, however, are taxed like other US residents and citizens, with no exemptions on foreign income.
• Corporate Card – Requires $2 million per sponsored employee. This track targets multinational companies and employers that want to secure permanent residency for their top executives or specialists. By tying contributions to the number of sponsored staff, it makes immigration a corporate investment tool, linking workforce mobility with US government funding.
• Platinum Card – Requires a $5 million contribution. Unlike the other tiers, it introduces a significant incentive: non-US income is exempt from US taxation. This makes it particularly attractive to ultra-high-net-worth individuals, global investors, and billionaires who want access to the US without subjecting worldwide earnings to US tax rules. The Platinum tier is positioned as the prestige option, combining residency with planificación fiscal benefits.

It is important to note that while the framework has been set by executive order, the program still requires agency implementation and may face legal or policy challenges.

Visa quotas and country caps under existing immigration law will also apply.

When Will the Trump Gold Card Be Available?

As per the administration’s timeline, the Gold Card program must be implemented within 90 days of the executive order’s passage. Once an applicant is approved, the card will be available for use across all 50 US states and territories.

That includes creating the application infrastructure, vetting procedures, and interagency coordination (Commerce, State, Homeland Security).

At the time of the announcement, the plan is to initially allocate 80,000 Gold Cards in this first phase. Meanwhile, a waiting list mechanism has been opened (or is expected) to manage initial demand.

Note that the Platinum Card—a higher tier allowing extended US presence with foreign income tax benefits—is coming soon and will require congressional approval.

Because many details remain to be finalized (e.g. regulations, vetting rules, administration), the available date may shift.

Observers should watch for formal rulemaking and publication in the Federal Register.

Who Qualifies for a Gold Card?

To qualify, applicants must satisfy several criteria:

• Be eligible for lawful permanent residence and admissible under standard US immigration rules.
• Pass a background check and vetting by US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
• Demonstrate they will substantially benefit the United States through their $1 million contribution.
• Be eligible under either EB-1 or EB-2 visa categories (i.e., show extraordinary ability or advanced degree, though the financial threshold is overriding).

What are the requirements for Trump’s Gold Card?

While full guidelines are pending final rulemaking, the executive order and existing US immigration standards suggest the following will be required:

• Proof of funds — bank statements, audited financial records, or certified asset documentation showing the applicant has the required $1 million contribution and vetting fee.
• Source of funds verification — evidence that the money comes from lawful sources, such as tax returns, business sale documents, inheritance records, or investment statements.
• Identity and civil documents — valid passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applying with family), and recent photographs.
• Background checks — police clearance certificates and any required security-related disclosures.
• Medical examination — standard immigration medical exam results, similar to other green card applicants.
• Immigration forms — including the petition form designating the applicant for EB-1 or EB-2 processing, as outlined in the executive order.

Because the Trump Gold Card falls under EB-1/EB-2 processing, applicants should expect to provide all standard supporting documents required in those categories, in addition to the new financial contribution paperwork.

How Much Is a Trump Gold Card?

How Do You Get a Trump Gold Card?

Prospective applicants should visit the official portal for application registration.

Once the program is fully active, applicants will pay a processing fee and submit their required documentation to USCIS and other relevant federal agencies for background checks and adjudication.

For the Corporate Gold Card, employers submit applications on behalf of employees, pay a per-employee processing fee, and provide documentation of eligibility and contribution.

After a corporate sponsor ceases support for an employee, the contribution may be reallocated, per the site’s description.

The Platinum Card is not yet active, but a waitlist is open through TrumpCard.gov.

Prospective Platinum applicants can reserve a spot now, and their processing will proceed on a first-come, first-served basis once the tier becomes operational.

Until the final regulations and rulemaking are published, the precise timeline, application forms, and adjudication steps remain subject to change.

EB-5 vs Gold Card

There is potential confusion between the well-known EB-5 visa (immigrant investor program) and this proposed Trump Gold Card model.

Here are the key distinctions:

Thus, while both are wealth-based immigration pathways, the Gold Card is more akin to a pay-for-status model, diverging from the EB-5’s requirement of investment risk and job creation.

Pros and Cons of Trump’s Gold Card

Pros

1. Speed / certainty — For wealthy applicants, this offers a more direct route to permanent residency, potentially bypassing long backlogs.
2. Simplified criteria — The $1 million donation is a clear threshold, reducing ambiguity around project selection, etc.
3. Revenue generation — It could generate massive government revenues, used to reduce deficits or fund other priorities.
4. Corporate flexibility — The Corporate version lets companies reassign immigration slots among employees, turning them into transferrable assets.
5. High-end option — The Platinum Card offers an extended-stay status with tax advantages (for non-US income) without full US taxation.

Cons / Risks

1. Affordability barrier — The price is astronomical; most individuals even high net worth won’t qualify financially.
2. Legal & constitutional challenge — Critics could argue this is selling immigration and bypassing statutory limits.
3. Equity & fairness concerns — It privileges the extremely wealthy and sidelines skilled workers, family reunification, humanitarian categories.
4. Implementation complexity — Interagency coordination, vetting, and enforcement remain untested at this scale.
5. Revocability & risk — Cards are revocable for national security and other risks.
6. Tax complications — Gold Card holders are taxed like other permanent residents; only Platinum holders may retain non-US tax status in some cases.
7. Market uncertainty — Because many details are not finalized, there is unpredictability around regulations, approvals, timelines, and risks.

Overall, while the Gold Card offers a bold reimagining of immigration, it carries major tradeoffs in accessibility, fairness, and legal viability.

Conclusión

The Trump Gold Card marks a dramatic departure from traditional US immigration models, shifting from investment and job creation toward direct financial contributions.

While it offers clarity and speed for ultra-wealthy applicants, its future depends on regulatory rollout, legal challenges, and market reception.

For now, it stands as both a bold experiment in wealth-based immigration and a lightning rod for debate over fairness, accessibility, and long-term impact on the US immigration system.

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Adam es un autor reconocido internacionalmente en temas financieros, con más de 830 millones de respuestas en Quora, un libro muy vendido en Amazon y colaborador de Forbes.