Trump administration faces lawsuit over $1M ‘Gold Card’ visa programme

A US university faculty group has sued the Trump administration over its “gold card” visa programme, which allows wealthy immigrants to seek permanent residency in the US through a $1 million payment, according to a report by Bloomberg Law. The lawsuit argues that the scheme is unlawful and violates existing immigration law.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) filed the complaint in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. It said the programme breaches the Administrative Procedure Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act and was introduced without statutory authority.

Also read: Inside Trump’s Gold Card program and how it works

Legality of programme challenged

“The Gold Card, which privileges wealthy immigrants over others, is part of a larger attack on immigrants, research, and higher education,” Todd Wolfson, AAUP’s president, said in a statement, as quoted by Bloomberg Law. “This unlawful program directly harms our members and the public. We stand firmly against it.”

The AAUP said the policy places wealth ahead of merit and departs from the framework set out in US immigration law.

Use of existing visa categories questioned

The departments of Commerce, State, and Homeland Security launched the visa option in December, nearly a year after President Donald Trump announced plans for a new legal immigration pathway. Instead of creating a new visa category, an executive order directed agencies to use existing EB-1 and EB-2 employment-based green card categories.

Also read: Trump administration sued over pause on immigrant visa processingUnder the programme, a $1 million payment by an individual, or $2 million by a corporation on their behalf, is treated as proof that applicants meet eligibility criteria. The lawsuit argues this redefines long-standing standards and exceeds executive authority.

Concerns over impact on skilled migrants

As per Bloomberg Law report, the complaint says the scheme disadvantages engineers, physicians, researchers, and other professionals whom immigration law is meant to prioritise. Individual plaintiffs include a biomedical researcher from Colombia seeking an EB-1 visa, a psychologist from Mexico applying for an EB-2 visa, and a cancer and immunotherapy researcher from Taiwan filing for an EB-2 visa with a national interest waiver.

Also read: Green card holders lose access to US government-backed business loans from March 1
Because the number of EB-1 and EB-2 green cards is limited each year, the lawsuit says prioritising gold card applicants will increase wait times for others and prolong reliance on temporary visas.

“In a system where demand for EB-1 and EB-2 visas exceeds annual supply, a paid fast lane that consumes visas and agency processing capacity necessarily pushes back qualified applicants who will have to wait longer for their applications to be considered and may ultimately not be awarded a visa,” the complaint said, as per the report.

The plaintiffs have asked the court to declare the gold card unlawful and halt its operation. The case is American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security.