Trump's Gold Card: $1M 'Gift' Grants EB-1/EB-2 Status, But Backlogs Loom

The Trump administration has unveiled the Gold Card immigrant visa program, with USCIS publishing Form I-140G, Immigrant Petition for the Gold Card Program. The program requires a minimum $1 million "contribution" to the United States under 15 USC 1522, plus a $15,000 processing fee per person. Applicants must first register on trumpcard.gov before filing. A forthcoming "Trump Platinum Card" will offer up to 270 days of U.S. presence without taxation on non-U.S. income in exchange for a $5 million contribution. From a legal standpoint, the program is engineered through executive order rather than Congressional authorization. The $1 million gift is structured to qualify applicants under the EB-1 extraordinary ability category (INA 203(b)(1)(A)) or the EB-2 national interest waiver category (INA 203(b)(2)). Immigration attorney Cyrus Mehta describes this as "executive legerdemain" — a clever but legally precarious workaround that bypasses the normal legislative process. For EB-3 and broader immigrant communities, the most significant implication is the potential impact on visa bulletin priority dates. The author calls on the administration to advance filing dates to current across all employment-based categories, which would allow thousands of I-140 petition holders — including Gold Card applicants — to file for adjustment of status. This could meaningfully reduce wait times for EB-3 applicants. A critical warning is issued for Indian-born applicants: because the Gold Card is appended to the EB-1 and EB-2 preference categories, those born in India will be subject to the existing country-specific backlogs for those categories — potentially waiting decades after paying $1 million or more. Processing timelines remain uncertain despite official claims of "weeks." The program faces substantial legal risk. Courts may block it for lacking Congressional authorization or failing to follow Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking. If struck down, applicants may not recover their contributions. Prospective applicants are advised to proceed with full awareness of the financial and legal exposure involved.