The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has received a draft Form I-140G from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for government review. This form would be used to apply for permanent residency under President Trump’s eagerly awaited Gold Card program. In order to implement the program by the timeframe set by President Trump in an executive order that formally announced the program in September, OMB approval of the form is a prerequisite.
In order to qualify a foreign national for permanent residence under the EB-1 preference category for individuals of extraordinary ability or the EB-2 National Interest Waiver category, interested individual petitioners and corporate sponsors could donate to the U.S. Treasury under the Gold Card program. Individual petitioners would need to provide $1 million, while employers that are petitioning on behalf of a foreign beneficiary would need to donate $2 million.
The government is preparing a procedure that would involve (1) submitting a Gold Card application to the Department of Commerce; (2) paying a nonrefundable $15,000 fee per applicant through pay.gov; and (3) submitting the now-draft Form I-140G petition to USCIS, according to draft instructions to the proposed form. Form I-140G is used by USCIS to determine whether a beneficiary qualifies for the new immigrant visa category and to verify that the contributed monies used to support the application come from a legitimate source.
The government states that an applicant “must complete consular processing with the U.S. Department of State at an embassy or consulate to get an immigrant visa and travel to the United States to be admitted as a lawful permanent resident” following the approval of the I-140G petition and the availability of an immigrant visa number in the desired classification. Although it is anticipated that Gold Card petition beneficiaries will have the option to change their status, the draft guidelines do not address this. An estimated 1,000 people are expected to file the Form I-140G petition each year, according to USCIS.
USCIS and the Department of Commerce are not currently taking applications, despite the draft form being a significant step toward the Gold Card program’s introduction. As the implementing agencies strive toward the December 18 deadline, more information on the procedure is anticipated in the upcoming weeks. A related Platinum Card program, which is listed as an option on the Administration’s Gold Card website but was not included in President Trump’s September executive order, has not yet received any information from the government. The website states that a foreign individual who pays the U.S. government $5 million (plus a processing charge) can remain in the country for up to 270 days a year under the Platinum Card program without having to pay U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.
Luke Bowman Law will continue to monitor and will offer more direction if new details become available. If you have questions regarding your specific situation, feel free to contact us or book an appointment here
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Luke Bowman
The Law offices of Luke Bowman