Topline
Only one person has been approved for a Trump “Gold Card” visa, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told lawmakers Thursday about the $1 million pay-for-play residency program—despite saying previously the government had already sold more than $1 billion worth of Gold Card visas.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick testifies before a Senate subcommittee on the Commerce Department’s 2027 budget request in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu via Getty Images
Key Facts
Lutnick said the Department of Homeland Security has “approved recently one person, and there are hundreds in the queue,” he told the House Appropriations Committee while testifying about his agency’s fiscal year 2027 budget request.
Lutnick said in December the administration had “sold” $1.3 billion in Gold Card visas in just a few days during a press conference alongside Trump to promote the cards.
Lutnick suggested Thursday there is a lag because the program is new, telling lawmakers, “the process was recently resolved with DHS, who runs the program, and they do a $15,000, the most serious vetting and analysis of any potential applicant in the history of government.”
The Trump administration began accepting applications in December for the program, which requires applicants to pay a $15,000 application fee and $1 million in exchange for an expedited pathway to resident legal status in the U.S.
Employers can also sponsor one or more employees via the “Trump Corporate Gold Card” program that requires a $15,000 processing fee and $2 million gift, plus annual maintenance and transfer fees.
This is a developing story and will be updated.