Play ‘Gold Card’ Visa Draws Just 1 Approval So Far
Forbes • • nation
Key Points:
- Only one individual has been approved for the Trump "Gold Card" visa, a $1 million residency program, despite earlier claims that over $1 billion worth of these visas had been sold, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick informed lawmakers.
- The sole approved recipient's identity remains undisclosed, though reports suggest Jeffrey Chao, founder of TP-Link Systems Inc., applied; the company is under federal investigation for national security concerns due to its Chinese connections.
- The Trump Gold Card program, established by executive order, grants EB-1 or EB-2 visas to applicants with extraordinary or exceptional abilities, but it faces multiple lawsuits alleging it favors wealth over merit and lacks transparency.
- Advocacy and immigrant groups have sued to block the program and to obtain government records, criticizing it for treating visas like exclusive memberships rather than merit-based admissions.
