The Trump Gold Card, at $1 million, is proving to be a tough sell to rich foreigners, although the government estimates it already has 70,000 applicants since it launched the fast-track immigration program just six months ago.
Hard numbers aren’t publicly available yet to back up the estimate from the Commerce Department, which issues the Gold Card, and the department didn’t respond to Barron’s request for specifics.
But lawyers told Barron’s that most of their wealthy foreign clients who want to immigrate aren’t applying for the Gold Card—they’re pursuing other options.
The card is pricey, but the promise is big: permanent U.S. residency in record time for $1 million and a $15,000 processing fee. Record time, though, isn’t defined and small print on the official website warns “additional small fees” may apply depending on where the applicant is from.
Money, pure and simple, is a main reason. The EB-5 visa program, in place for more than three decades, costs less: $800,000.
While $200,000 on its face might not seem like a huge savings for the uber-rich, the details of the EB-5 program make it much cheaper.
For example, a family of four would have to pay $4 million for Trump Gold Cards. For EB-5, the family would only have to invest $800,000 in an economic development project that they would eventually get back—along with an investment return—if the project succeeds, said Ron Klasko, chairman of Klasko Immigration Law Partners.
“When you put one up against the other, in most cases, people say EB-5 makes a lot more sense,” he told Barron’s.
Another big reason that applicants are steering clear of the Gold Card is its uncertain future. President Donald Trump created the program by executive order. His successor could eliminated it.
Then, beyond the financial and uncertainty issues is the question of whether the program is legal.
The American Association of University Professors—along with a long list of scientists and other academics—is suing the government in federal court, charging that Gold Card applicants will unfairly displace applicants for two other employment-based visa categories—EB-1, for those with “extraordinary ability,” and EB-2, for those with exceptional skills or education necessary for the economy or national interest.
A lawyer who is representing the plaintiffs described the Gold Card as “affirmative action for the rich.”
“If you can spend $1 million…you can jump to the head of the line and be qualified for a visa that you’re not qualified for,” Craig Becker, of Democracy Defenders Fund, told Barron’s.
The government has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit, which was filed Feb. 3. The Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for comment. Neither did the Commerce Department.
Besides fairness, the lawsuit asserts that the program needed to be approved by Congress and therefore violates existing law.
The Gold Card, according to the lawsuit, “overrides Congress’s choices—both as to who qualifies for employment-based immigration and how and under what conditions agencies may collect revenue.” it stated.
For Reaz Jafri, an immigration lawyer with the international firm Withers, the Gold Card “is a pretty significant change to the law.”
“This was done unilaterally without input by stakeholders,” said Jafri, who is also CEO of Dasein Advisors, a citizenship and residency consulting firm. “The harm…is very real.”
Several of Jafri’s clients are interested in the Gold Card, but he has advised them against applying. He thinks there’s a good chance that they will lose the $15,000 filing fee if the lawsuit succeeds.
George Ganey, founding partner of Ganey Law Group, has had several clients apply for the Gold Card, though they haven’t had any word back from the government.
All are fans of Trump, he said: “They support his agenda, they think highly of him as a businessman.”
The Commerce Department’s lack of a response to applicants—at least Ganey’s clients—might be tied to the application form, which calls for detailed financial information. Applicants also have to undergo a background check by the Department of Homeland Security.
“This isn’t child’s play—the administration intends on making this a durable program,” said David Kim, a lawyer at Colombo & Hard, who is also representing the plaintiffs.
For Kim, like Becker his colleague, the time to get a Gold Card vs. the time to get EB-1 and EB-2 visas is a sticking point.
The government could maintain that Gold Card applicants are processed according to when they are filed, just like the EB-1 and EB-2 applications, he said.
“But the fact they are standing in line at all makes no sense,” Kim added. EB-1 and EB-2 visas are “reserved for people who meet a high bar.”
About 80% of EB-1 applications take 22 months to process, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The processing time for the Gold Card is expected to take only “weeks.”
“The point of [the Gold Card] is speed,” Kim said. “It’s certainly possible that a Gold Card applicant could get ahead of the line…”
Write to Abby Schultz at abby.schultz@barrons.com