By Evaristo Lara
Although it was announced as the most direct route to acquire US residencythe so-called “gold card” promoted since December by President Donald Trump in exchange for an investment of at least $1,000,000, simply has not taken off as projected.since so far only one person has received approval from the US government to legally establish themselves in the country through this type of visa.
“It is very exciting, for me and for the country, that we have launched the ‘Trump Gold Card,’” said the seventy-nine-year-old president in a round table held at the White House on Wednesday, December 10 of last year.
In fact, that same day the official website trumpcard.gov was enabled, where the link that carries the application promises “residence in the United States in record time.”
“For a Department of Homeland Security processing fee of $15,000 and, after background clearance, a contribution of $1,000,000, obtain residency in the United States in record time with the ‘Trump Gold Card,’” indicated the full message of the option offered.
In this regard, in an interview given to the television network Fox News, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick projected that the “gold card” would ensure that people with the ability to pay for it would help boost the economy.
At that time, the government’s promise was that after paying and submitting a series of documentation, the process to enter the United States would be a matter of weeks, a period that would include an interview between the applicant and a member of the immigration service.
Nevertheless, almost five months later, Howard Lutnick announced that the Trump administration has only approved one “gold card” since it began receiving applications.
During an appearance before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives, the New York official acknowledged that the process of analyzing aspiring residents has been slow, since the Department of Homeland Security carefully supervises the program.
“They recently approved one person, and there are hundreds on the waiting list. “They wanted to make sure they did it perfectly,” said Lutnick, hoping that, at some point, more people will reside in the United States thanks to the acquisition of the gold card.
Keep reading:
• Trump’s $1 million “gold card” visa is now a reality and this is how it works
• Trump officially launches $1 million “gold card” program
• Trump signs measure imposing a $100,000 payment for H-1B visa applications
