U.S. Gold Card Visa Program Approves Single Applicant

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced during a congressional hearing that the 'Gold Card' visa program, introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump, has approved only one applicant so far. According to Odaily, the program is seen as an alternative to the traditional EB-5 investment immigration plan. Companies can pay $2 million for foreign employees to apply, with an additional 1% annual maintenance fee. This allows foreigners to pay at least $1 million to legally reside and work in the U.S., eventually providing a path to citizenship. Howard Lutnick previously stated that within days of the program's launch, slots worth $1.3 billion had been sold, with expectations of generating $1 trillion in revenue to help alleviate the U.S. fiscal deficit. Despite only one formal approval, Lutnick mentioned that hundreds of applications are currently under review.