Trump Official Reveals How Many Gold Card Visas Have Been Approved

The White House has revealed how many people have received Trump’s gold card visas, and the number is quite surprising.

According to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the White House has just approved one gold card visa.

Lutnick did note, however, that there are hundreds on the waiting list.

NBC News reported more on Lutnick’s comments:

President Donald Trump’s “gold card” visa, where a foreigner can shell out at least $1 million to legally live and work in the U.S., has been approved for one person, said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Thursday — appearing to fall a bit short of an earlier claim.

After it launched in December, Lutnick said that the government had sold $1.3 billion “worth” in just several days, as Trump stood by holding up the gilded ticket and said, “essentially it’s the green card on steroids.”

Lutnick did not address the apparent discrepancy in an exchange with a congresswoman at Thursday’s committee hearing.

Trump pushed the idea last year, initially suggesting a cost of $5 million, and arguing that it would entice foreign talent to U.S. shores and fill out federal coffers. It’s meant to replace the EB-5 program, a decades-old program that offered U.S. visas to people who invested about $1 million in a company with at least 10 employees.

Though only one person has been approved, “there are hundreds in the queue that they are going through,” said Lutnick, appearing pleased with the program’s results, at a congressional committee hearing Thursday.

“They’ve just set it up, and they wanted to make sure they did it perfectly,” he said.

Watch Lutnick here:

Only one person has been approved so far for Donald Trump’s “Gold Card” Visa program granting foreigners US residency for a $1 million fee, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday https://t.co/4zzkFs5ZNH pic.twitter.com/KIPTle0b1N

— Bloomberg (@business) April 23, 2026

Some have speculated that rapper Nicki Minaj was the one person approved for the gold card visa.

Take a look:

Last year Howard Lutnick claimed to have sold 1,000 and then 70,000 "Trump Gold Cards," selling residency status for $5 million each.

Per @josh_wingrove, Lutnick today admitted the program has approved just one person to date for a $1M fee, who appears to have been Nicki Minaj pic.twitter.com/kiI7tALqmG

— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) April 23, 2026

The New York Times cleared the rumors:

After a joint appearance with President Trump this week, the rapper Nicki Minaj flaunted what appeared to be a pricey gift that caught the attention of the hip-hop and immigration advocacy communities alike.

She posted an image of a Trump “gold card,” the expedited visa offered to those willing to pay $1 million. But Ms. Minaj, who just hours before said she was Mr. Trump’s “No. 1 fan,” suggested that she had not spent a dime.

“Welp …” Ms. Minaj posted alongside the image of the card bearing Mr. Trump’s face alongside the Statue of Liberty.

“Finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak as per MY wonderful, gracious, charming President,” added Ms. Minaj, who has said previously that she came to the United States illegally. “I wouldn’t have done it without you.”

And if that was not clear enough: “Gold Trump card free of charge,” she wrote, alongside an image of the horror-film character Chucky giving the middle finger.

The post prompted questions. Had a Grammy-nominated rap star — and one of Mr. Trump’s newest political allies — circumvented the backlogged immigration system to receive a luxury visa for free?

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Turns out, all Ms. Minaj got was a gold-colored card bearing Mr. Trump’s face. A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe the gift, said the gold card was simply a “memento” rather than a “visa document.”

Despite her flexing, the card would probably serve little value to Ms. Minaj, who already appears to have legal status.

Welp… pic.twitter.com/c5v8ztVVLR

— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) January 28, 2026