When US President Donald Trump first proposed his
“gold card” programme earlier this year, offering permanent residency to the super-rich, Beijing-based emigration consultant Jack Jing received unsolicited inquiries from seven high-net-worth families.
But that initial enthusiasm
quickly waned after the application details were released last week. None of his clients plan to apply in the near term, said Jing, general manager of the migration service provider WellTrend, who has decades of experience serving wealthy Chinese clients.
“After carefully weighing legal risks and potential visa backlogs, two of them have abandoned the gold card in favour of other US investment-immigration visas backed by congressional legislation, while the remaining families have generally chosen to wait and see.”
Immigration agents said the scheme’s appeal among wealthy Chinese is
weak because of security concerns – including screenings by the US Department of Homeland Security, according to the official visa website – and policy uncertainty, even as demand for US immigration persists and the price of Trump’s gold card has dropped from US$5 million to US$1 million.
“Clients worry whether this new programme could trigger legislative disputes, similar to the ‘reciprocal tariffs’ issue, ultimately requiring a Supreme Court ruling and significantly delaying green card [permanent residency] processing,” Jing said.
In southern China, Bill Liu, co-founder of Guangzhou Cheuk Yuet Overseas Consulting Service, said few of his clients and peers are planning to apply. “Without a clear two- to three-month path to permanent residency and congressional backing, even the wealthy find it hard to be swayed,” Liu said.
