Trump’s lonely ‘gold card’ club as just one person takes up pricey visa option

The cards cost £740,000 and guarantee entry into America, but seems many are not keen

A wacky scheme drawn up by Donald Trump to only allow the rich into America has not gone down well. Last year, the US leader announced the “top level” premium visa called the ‘gold card’, which is essentially an expedited pathway for people with a lot of money to get granted residency in the US.

The cost was an eye watering $1 million – around £740,000 – per person, or two million dollars for companies seeking visas for employees, along with a $15k – £11,085 – vetting fee. Trump came up with the scheme, saying he wanted only the best to be granted access to living in his country, saying the money could be used to pay off some of the country’s debt.

But it seems the idea was not overly popular, with only ONE PERSON in the whole world applying since it started. When the plans were first announced, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said it would make money for the American government, possibly as much as $100 billion, but it turns out no one was interested.

They initially said about 80,000 gold cards would be made available at first, and that the US would “only take extraordinary people at the very top.”

But The Independent says the administration has approved only one unnamed person for the gold card in the whole time of the scheme being live.

Although a website for applications was launched in December, Lutnick has said there are ‘hundreds’ queueing for the card, while one person has been approved.

He said: “This is a new program, and they’ve just set it up, and they wanted to make sure they did it perfectly.

“It’s a DHS program done with a rigorous, rigorous vetting.”

The website explains: “The Trump Gold Card is a visa based upon an individual’s ability to provide a substantial benefit to the United States. To apply, an applicant must pay a nonrefundable, $15,000 DHS processing fee.

“Once an applicant’s processing fee is received, the process for petition approval and visa adjudication will take place on an expedited basis, assuming applicants submit any additional documents or fees in a timely manner. A $1 million gift upon completion of the individual’s vetting is evidence that the individual will substantially benefit the United States.”

It also says a platinum version is ‘coming soon’ and will cost five million dollars to let someone spend up to 270 days in the US without being taxed on non-US income.

At the moment, there are EB-1 and EB-2 visas, also known as employment-based visas, which have a clear path to US citizenship as they are given to those with either ‘advanced degrees’ or ‘extraordinary ability’.

According to Politico, the ‘gold card’ is meant to be replacing these for those who have ‘exceptional value’ to the US.

When asked how the funds from the cards would be spent, Lutnick previously said: “That will be determined by the administration, and its terms are for the betterment of the United States of America.”