A lawsuit just hit Trump’s $1 million visa program, as scientists and engineers expose the damage it’s doing to immigration

The Donald Trump administration is being taken to federal court over its Gold Card visa program. This new system lets wealthy people get U.S. permanent residency quickly if they pay at least $1 million. The American Association of University Professors and a group of immigrant professionals filed the lawsuit in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C.

President Trump created the Gold Card through an executive order in September 2025. It allows people to qualify for EB-1 and EB-2 employment-based visas simply by paying money. The cost is $1 million for an individual or $2 million if a corporation sponsors them. This creates a fast-track system based entirely on wealth.

According to Newsweek, the lawsuit argues this program breaks federal immigration law. Congress created EB-1 and EB-2 visas to reward people with extraordinary ability or advanced professional skills. These visas were meant for brilliant scientists, groundbreaking engineers, and top researchers who have been waiting in long queues for years.

The program turns merit-based visas into payment opportunities

The Gold Card converts these merit-based visas into a payment system, according to the lawsuit. This takes away limited visa numbers and government resources from the qualified professionals they were designed to help. The lawsuit states, “Rather than reserving those visas for the world’s best and brightest, the Gold Card program converts those visas into revenue-generating commodities sold to the highest bidder.”

Sarah Wilson, a partner at Colombo & Hurd, said Congress set up a clear merit-based system for these visas with strict limits. She explained that the Gold Card “attempts to bypass that system by treating wealth as a substitute for statutory eligibility and, in doing so, it harms the scientists, researchers, and professionals who have played by the rules and waited their turn.” When visa caps exist, a paid fast lane pushes qualified people further back in line.

The lawsuit also raises constitutional issues. The plaintiffs say the executive branch cannot completely change visa programs established by Congress without going through the legislative process. Allison Zieve, director of the Public Citizen Litigation Group, said this case shows another example where the administration is “defying federal statutes to advance short-term policy preferences.”

The lawsuit names several high-profile officials as defendants, including President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. This legal challenge comes as Trump’s diplomatic tensions with foreign leaders continue to make headlines. The Gold Card is part of larger changes to legal immigration under President Trump.

The administration has also stopped visa approvals for applicants from 75 countries and added new restrictions on asylum seekers. These immigration changes coincide with his threats of tariffs against Canada over trade disputes. The plaintiffs want the court to declare the Gold Card program unlawful and stop it immediately. The federal court will now review the lawsuit to decide whether the administration violated federal law by creating this million-dollar path to permanent residency.