After H-1B visa fee hike: US Gold Card sparks interest in American dream chasers

New Delhi: The new US Gold Card programme that promises a quick pathway to US residency has seen significant interest from Indians, after the Trump administration imposed a steep $100,000 one-time fee on the popular non-immigrant H-1B visas.

Immigration firms said they are now getting 30-40% more enquiries from Indians, especially the wealthy, about the Gold Card programme.

Individuals can purchase the Gold Card for $1 million. President Donald Trump, who has been talking about introducing the programme since his inauguration earlier this year, signed an executive order on September 19, bringing it into effect.

“Interest has gone up sharply since the H-1B revisions,” said Sahil Nyati, founder of immigration consultancy Jinee Green Card & Meritmap.ai. Most of the enquiries are from mid-career tech professionals who are in their 30s–40s with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) backgrounds, he said.

The Gold Card is structured around a non-refundable $1 million “gift” to the US Treasury, or $2 million via corporate sponsorship. The US government framed this not as an investment-based visa like EB5, but as a contribution toward American industry and commerce, according to experts.

Trump followed up on the Gold Card programme with an unexpected announcement increasing the fee for the H-1B visa programme for skilled foreign workers to a flat $100,000. The fee previously was $2,000-5,000, depending on the size of the company that sponsored the visa. Indians are the most affected by the H-1B fee hike.

“In our own practice, conversations referencing the Gold Card are up around 40% this week compared with a normal week, mainly from individuals who were originally considering H-1B or EB-5,” said Sukanya Raman, country head at immigration firm Davies & Associates.

Official statistics on the number of Gold Card enquiries and applications are not yet available. But US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick claimed that there have already been about a quarter million expressions of interest, according to Rohit Jain, managing partner at Singhania & Co.

“Our Immigration law teams are noticing a surge in queries from potential clients, particularly corporations, since the announcement of a steep hike in H-1B fees,” he said.

Prachi Shah, who runs an eponymous law firm, however said the interest in the Gold Card among the South Asian client base is low. “This is primarily due to the significant investment requirements and the perception that the Gold Card demands a non-refundable $1 million commitment.”

Immigration lawyers are also seeing some Indians warming up to other countries instead of the US due to Washinton making immigration visas more expensive and difficult to get.

In addition to the Gold Card, the US government is also looking at launching the ‘Trump Platinum Card’, which will require a $5 million contribution to get a residency permit.