The U.S. Gold Card Program: A New High-Net-Worth Pathway to Permanent Residency

The U.S. Gold Card Program: A New High-Net-Worth Pathway to Permanent Residency

Updated through December 11, 2025

The United States has introduced an unprecedented immigration pathway for ultra-high-net-worth individuals: the Gold Card Program, established under Executive Order 14351 on September 19, 2025, and officially launched to the public in December 2025. With the release of Form I-140G and the activation of the federal Gold Card portal, the program is now operational and accepting applications.

This article provides a clear and accurate overview of how the Gold Card works, how it integrates into the existing immigration system, its financial structure, and its potential impact for others navigating the EB-1 and EB-2 categories.

1. What Is the Gold Card Program?

The Gold Card is not a new visa category created by Congress. Instead, it is an executive-branch initiative that allows wealthy individuals to obtain permanent residency through existing employment-based immigrant visa categories, specifically:

  • EB-1A Extraordinary Ability, and

  • EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW).

Under this program, applicants qualify for these visa categories not through traditional evidentiary requirements but by making a large, mandatory financial gift to the U.S. government and completing extensive background, security, and financial-source vetting. The immigration benefit rests on executive interpretation of eligibility under existing statutory categories.

2. Legal Authority and Administrative Structure

The Gold Card is implemented under:

  • Executive Order 14351, directing the Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, and State to administer the program;

  • Operational rules and procedures established through Form I-140G, Form DS-260G, and the dedicated Gold Card portal.

This structure allows the government to confer permanent residency without legislative action, relying instead on the executive’s authority to administer existing immigration categories.

3. Purpose-Built Forms: I-140G and DS-260G

Form I-140G

The Immigrant Petition for the Gold Card Program was released by USCIS in December 2025. Filed electronically, it documents:

  • the required financial gift;

  • lawful source of funds;

  • identity, security, and compliance details.

Form DS-260G

For overseas consular processing, applicants will use DS-260G, a Gold Card–specific immigrant visa application now being deployed through the State Department.

These forms establish the Gold Card as a gift-based permanent residency pathway with heightened vetting obligations.

4. Financial Requirements: The Most Expensive U.S. Immigration Program Ever

The Gold Card’s defining characteristic is its per-person gift requirement, which applies to both the principal applicant and each dependent spouse or child.

Required Gift to the U.S. Government

  • $1,000,000 per individual applicant, or

  • $2,000,000 for a corporate-sponsored principal,

    • $1,000,000 per dependent in the corporate scenario.

USCIS Processing Fee

  • $15,000 per person (non-refundable)

Example:
A family of four applying independently must provide:

  • $4,000,000 in gifts, plus

  • $60,000 in USCIS fees.

No portion of the gift is returnable under any circumstance.

5. How the Program Uses the EB-1A and EB-2 NIW Categories

The Gold Card does not alter the statutory definitions of EB-1A or the National Interest Waiver. Instead, the required gift serves as the core eligibility condition under the program’s executive framework.

USCIS evaluates Gold Card petitions by focusing on:

  • gift qualifications;

  • lawful source of funds;

  • background and security review;

  • national security and compliance factors.

The agency, not the applicant, determines whether the final immigrant classification will be EB-1A or EB-2 NIW.

6. Why the Program Includes Both EB-1 and EB-2

Using both categories serves several administrative purposes:

  1. Maximizing Visa Availability
    EB-1 and EB-2 each receive 28.6% of the annual employment-based quota, and EB-2 absorbs unused EB-1 numbers.

  2. Avoiding Creation of a New Visa Category
    Incorporating the program into existing categories avoids the need for congressional approval.

  3. Managing Country Backlogs
    Applicants from retrogressed countries (e.g., India, China) may benefit from flexible allocation between EB-1 and EB-2, depending on monthly visa bulletin movement.

7. Potential Impact on Existing EB-1 and EB-2 Applicants

USCIS’s workload estimates anticipate roughly 1,000 Gold Card filings per year. At this scale, the program is expected to create modest but real pressure on EB-1 and EB-2 visa numbers, since each family member consumes an individual visa.

While this is unlikely to significantly alter the structure of visa backlogs, applicants—particularly in EB-1—may see incremental effects on visa bulletin advancement.

8. Comparison to the EB-5 Investor Program

The Gold Card will inevitably be compared to EB-5, but the programs are fundamentally different:

EB-5

  • Requires a risk-bearing investment ($800,000–$1,050,000)

  • Must create 10 U.S. jobs

  • Funds may be returned

  • Strict statutory requirements

Gold Card

  • Requires a non-refundable gift

  • No job creation requirement

  • No capital return

  • Executive, not statutory, authority

The Gold Card is therefore far simpler but vastly more expensive, appealing to individuals seeking predictability rather than investment risk.

9. Legal and Practical Risks

Because the Gold Card program is created entirely through executive action and relies on reinterpretation of statutory categories, it carries significant legal uncertainty.

Potential risks include:

  • Congressional challenge or oversight

  • Federal litigation challenging executive authority

  • Temporary injunctions affecting program continuity

  • Future policy changes altering eligibility or timing

Applicants should understand that the program’s long-term stability is not guaranteed and may shift based on legal and political developments.

10. Conclusion

The U.S. Gold Card program represents a dramatic new direction in high-net-worth immigration policy. It offers a fast-moving, simplified pathway to permanent residency through an exceptionally large financial gift to the U.S. government.

Key features include:

  • Use of existing EB-1A and EB-2 NIW categories

  • $1 million per-person gift requirement

  • $15,000 per-person processing fee

  • Enhanced vetting and financial scrutiny

  • Operational launch in December 2025

  • Potential but limited impact on EB-1/EB-2 visa numbers

  • Meaningful legal and policy risk

For high-net-worth individuals seeking U.S. permanent residence, the Gold Card offers a unique opportunity—albeit with an extraordinary price tag and an evolving legal landscape.

Judy Chang Law Firm, National Immigration Law Firm
Copyright© Judy J. Chang, Esq. All rights reserved. 12/11/2025
The information contained in article is provided for general information only and should not serve as a substitute for legal advice.
http://www.judychanglaw.com / contact@judychanglaw.com

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