US President Donald Trump’s “golden card” visa program is struggling to attract the wealthy foreigners it was designed to attract, with several immigration lawyers warning clients to stay away from the program over legal and financial concerns.According to a report in The Washington Post, lawyers advising wealthy clients say ongoing lawsuits, tax complications and uncertainty about the visa’s legal status made the scheme too risky to recommend. Trump unveiled the visa in June last year and it was officially launched by executive order in September. Its cost ranges between $1 million and $2 million, plus an application fee of $15,000.
Management also promoted it as a $5 million avenue for wealthy investors.Even lawyers with close ties to the Trump family have distanced themselves from the program. Michael Wilds, an immigration lawyer who has represented First Lady Melania Trump, her parents, members of the Kushner family and several Miss Universe winners, said he would refuse to accept clients seeking the Gold Card.“It would be unethical for me to keep them,” Wilds told The Washington Post.
The biggest problem for many lawyers is that the visa has not been approved by Congress, which means a future administration may rescind it. Rosanna Berardi, another immigration attorney, said the uncertainty alone was enough to discourage clients from applying.“As immigration consultants, our obligation is always to protect our clients’ interests,” she told the newspaper.“We do not believe it is appropriate to recommend a program with such significant legal uncertainty and financial risk, even when clients express an interest in moving forward,” she added.A few applicants are still testing the waters. Immigration attorney Mona Shah said she currently has two clients, from Nigeria and Pakistan, who are at different stages of the application process. However, she said she warned both that the program might amount to “false advertising” and might ultimately lead nowhere. According to Shah, her clients were prepared to lose money if the plan collapsed.US government figures indicate that interest in the program remains far below the administration’s ambitious expectations.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) court filing last week revealed that only 338 people applied for the Trump Gold Card, while only 165 applicants paid the $15,000 processing fee.This contradicts previous claims by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who previously predicted the program would generate more than $100 billion through the issuance of 80,000 gold cards. Lutnick also claimed in March that 1,000 gold cards had already been issued before the program officially launched.The DHS filing also stated that Gold Card applicants would not be ahead of EB-1 or EB-2 visa applicants, categories reserved for highly skilled and exceptional workers.
