Gold Card Executive Order
September 21, 2025 2 Comments
“For He said and it came about; He commanded and it endured.” This verse is quoted from the Psalms, not from the U.S. Constitution. The “he” in this verse refers to God, not the U.S. President. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made” — but it happens that by the word of the President is not how U.S. immigration law gets made.
I don’t know how much more than that to say about the executive orders that were dropped on Friday regarding H-1B fees and Gold Card. The release made for effective theater with dramatic audience response, but new immigration requirements and legal options do not instantly come about and endure by word of the President. The reality is more complicated.
The legal immigration system, which does after all exist and control borders, is now trying to sort the confusion around H-1B. (USCIS FAQ here.) The courts will soon be hearing about conflicts between the executive order and established processes and authority for setting immigrant fees. And then there’s the Gold Card. I’m bemused by everyone solemnly reporting on this meme as a live immigration option. The President spoke, and it was so? The President speaking starts a process, and where could the process end up, realistically? How can people be opening https://trumpcard.gov/ and reading it straight, not bursting into a hearty collective guffaw and giving Trump credit for a brilliantly funny troll of immigration?
Can the executive branch executively redefine who qualifies for U.S. visas defined in the law? If the answer is “no,” then the Gold Card executive order has the weight of the paper it’s written on. If the answer is “yes,” then the order can be effective on the President’s word until the next president comes along with his or her different word. If the 47th president can stipulate that giving a money gift qualifies as an extraordinary ability and thus a path to an EB-1 visa, then the 48th president has as much basis to decide, for example, that being a still-living Haitian today clearly reflects extraordinary ability and thus qualifies for an EB-1 visa.
Could President Trump possibly be serious about making the Gold Card a reality, enough to get Congress involved? On the off chance that he truly wants to back up the pitch to “receive U.S. residency in record time with the Trump Gold Card,” then he’ll have to push Congress for more visa numbers. (Otherwise as a practical matter, EB categories are already oversubscribed nearly across the board, with long visa number wait times to offer to incoming new priority dates for EB-1/EB-2 visas, even if new ways to qualify could be created and even if the pre-visa processing steps can be expedited.) What a funny and welcome plot twist if current leadership become the ones who finally raise the employment-based visa limit and increase the overall level of legal immigration, for the sake of making the Gold Card project work. And then future leadership might redefine more dignified bases than unrestricted cash gifts to qualify for the expanded visa limit. For example, what about supporting job creation? So I can sympathize with the lobbying flutter around the proposal. But … it all seems so improbable. But if anyone feels inclined to make an unrestricted cash gift in exchange for a Trump-branded immigration promise, what can I say? Department of Commerce could use the money.
For more discussion of the Gold Card idea, I refer for once to Center for Immigration Studies, and to Carolyn Lee and Joey Barnett. (I also note that immigration lawyers, who would know, are more optimistic than I am that Trump’s word on the Gold Card is effective.)
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EB-5 Updates 
On Saturday afternoon in Beijing with nor much to do and aided electronically, I “penned” the following:
The Capitol Corn Chronicle
September 20, 2025 — Washington, D.C.
Grassley would be spinning in his grave, but he is very much alive at 92
By Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON — For more than two decades, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has been the relentless defender of the EB-5 program, championing its promise of rural job creation, small-town investment, and economic vitality.
But on September 19, 2025, President Trump, aided by policy aide Stephen Miller, announced the launch of a new “Gold Card” program — a $1 million fast-track for individuals (or $2 million for corporations buying in bulk) to obtain permanent residence in the United States.
Critics immediately dubbed it a “fire sale of the American Dream.”
Grassley’s Legacy at Risk
The Senator has spent decades insisting EB-5 should create real jobs in real communities, not simply auction off residency like a clearance item. The move comes on the heels of the failed $5 million “Gold Card” proposal, which promised tax-free worldwide income — an idea shot down by virtually everyone with a W-2.
“America has always said we don’t sell green cards,” remarked one former Grassley staffer. “Now we’re practically hanging a price tag from Lady Liberty’s torch.”
The Living Legend Reacts
At 92, Grassley remains very much alive — though pundits joked that if he were deceased, he’d be “spinning in his grave like a John Deere combine.” Instead, witnesses say he was spotted in his Senate office, tugging at the few remaining hairs on his head and muttering:
“This is not Costco. You don’t bulk-buy the American Dream.”
Iowa farmers reported their cornfields rattling that morning, unsure whether it was high winds or the senator’s fury reverberating across the plains.
Sidebar: What Comes With the Gold Card?
Epilogue
Whether as ghost or elder statesman, Grassley’s voice is unmistakable:
“Gold is for wedding rings and Olympic medals. Green cards should stay green.”
Teehee. Glad to see that not everyone is taking this topic solemnly after all.