Here’s a novel concept: if you’re going to sell U.S. permanent residency for a cool million bucks, maybe you should be open about how you set up the store. That, in essence, is what a government watchdog group is arguing in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration over its "Gold Card" visa program.
The Democracy Defenders Fund filed suit on Monday, accusing the administration of stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests for records related to the program. You know, the one where foreign nationals can essentially buy a path to a green card with a $1 million payment. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., doesn’t aim to shut the program down. It just wants to force the government to show its homework—to be transparent about how the Gold Card was created, who benefits, and who bears the cost.
The plaintiffs argue that the administration’s communication about the program has been, let’s say, inconsistent. They also make a broader philosophical point: U.S. permanent residency shouldn’t be a privilege reserved exclusively for the wealthy. The suit names several agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, and State, as well as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), for failing to cough up the requested documents.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been a point person for the program, but the lawsuit claims even he has been unclear about which foreign interests stand to gain. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MarketDash.
The Gold Card program, announced in February 2025 and officially launched last December, has been a lightning rod from the start. It was marketed as offering "unprecedented access" to the U.S. for wealthy applicants, with a $5 million "Platinum Card" option also available. President Donald Trump famously called it a "green card on steroids," touting its potential to help companies hire graduates from top schools. And business was brisk: Lutnick said the program generated $1.3 billion in sales within days of launch.
This isn’t the program’s first trip to the legal rodeo. Back in February, the American Association of University Professors sued, arguing the Gold Card is flat-out unlawful. That lawsuit claims the program violates federal laws and was created without Congressional authority, as Trump introduced it via executive order using visa categories meant for highly skilled individuals.
So now the Gold Card faces a one-two legal punch: one suit saying it’s illegal, and this new one saying even if it is legal, the administration needs to explain how it all works. It’s a classic transparency fight—the kind that happens when you create a high-stakes, high-dollar immigration pathway with the stroke of a pen. The courts will now decide if the government has to open its books.
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