Only one Trump "gold card" visa has been approved, Lutnick says

The Trump administration has approved one “gold card” visa since starting to accept applications for the new U.S. residency permit in December, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday. 

Lutnick, who offered the update while testifying at a House subcommittee hearing, said that the process for applying for the gold card visa was recently finalized with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the program. The visa program is available to foreigners who pay a $1 million donation to the U.S. government.

“They have approved, recently, one person, and there are hundreds in the queue,” Lutnick said Thursday. “They wanted to make sure they did it perfectly.”

He added that the vetting process for gold card applicants is “the most serious … in the history of government.”

President Trump announced the program last year, touting it as an expedited path for wealthy foreigners to secure legal residency in the U.S. and as a way to generate government revenue. Applications for the new visa went live in December, with the government website for the gold card stating that it can help foreigners receive residency approval in “record time.”

Applicants for the visa pay $15,000 in processing fees to the Department of Homeland Security, in addition to the $1 million donation. Homeland Security referred questions about the program to the Commerce Department. 

Lutnick didn’t disclose details about the individual approved for the gold card visa, and the Commerce Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment. 

Asked by Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York, how the $1 million donations from the program will be used, Lutnick said that the money will be directed toward “the betterment” of the U.S.

“That will be determined by the administration,” he said.