Tax Consequences of the Proposed U.S. Green and Platinum Cards

By: William L. Bricker, Jr., Matthew Crawford

Obtaining a United States visa has often entailed substantial delays and heavy administrative burdens. On September 19, 2025, President Trump proposed sweeping changes to the visa system intended to streamline the application process for certain visas and raise federal revenue by approximately $100 billion. The proposed changes likely will require congressional approval.

The Proposed New Visa Rules

President Trump issued an Executive Order creating the “Gold Card,” an updated version of immigrant visa[1] for individuals with exceptional ability or national benefit.[2] The Gold Card grants lawful permanent resident status. To qualify, applicants must donate $1 million[3] to the U.S. government and pay a $15,000 processing fee.[4] The White House announced that the Department of Homeland Security will expedite Gold Card applications, subject to security screening. The U.S. government plans to issue 80,000 Gold Cards, according to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. The U.S. Departments of Commerce, State, and Homeland Security must establish the program’s application procedure and guidelines by December 18, 2025.

The President also announced plans for a “Platinum Card,” a travel visa that costs $5 million. The specifics of the Platinum Card program remain to be clarified. However, it appears that Platinum Card holders could remain in the United States for up to 270 days each year without triggering U.S. income tax residency. To achieve this result, Congress must amend the U.S. tax rules for those exceeding, on average, approximately 4 months annually in the United States.

The Trump administration also raised the filing fee for new H1-B visa applications, covering temporary skilled workers, to $100,000. The increased fee does not apply to H1-B visa renewals. H1-B visas do not confer lawful permanent resident status, and H1-B visa holders may remain in the United States for an average of approximately 4 months annually without triggering U.S. income tax residency.

U.S. Tax Consequences of New Visa Rules

U.S. income tax residents pay tax on worldwide income. A nonresident becomes an U.S. income tax resident by (1) spending 183 days or more in the U.S. in a year (the “substantial presence” test), (ii) averaging 122 or more days in the U.S. over 3-years, or (3) holding a lawful permanent resident visa (a/k/a, a “green card”).  Since the 183-day test applies on a weighted 3 year rolling average, an alien generally becomes a U.S. tax resident if he or she averages 122 days or more in the United States each year.

Gold Card holders would qualify as lawful permanent residents and therefore as U.S. income tax residents. By contrast, Platinum Card holders could stay in the U.S. for 270 days each year before triggering U.S. income tax residency, a meaningful change from the current residency rules. This will require that a U.S. tax law amendment.

There is currently no change to the H1-B visa other than the increased fee and an indication of faster processing. H1-B visa holders still face the 183-day substantial presence test.

Like U.S. income taxation, U.S. estate and gift worldwide taxation depend upon the determination of whether an alien is a U.S. resident. However, the term “resident” has a different meaning for U.S. estate and gift tax purposes than for U.S. income tax purposes. For U.S. estate and gift tax purposes, an alien is “resident” if he or she is domiciled in the U.S. The regulations. provide:[5]

	A person acquires a domicile in a place by living there, for even a brief period of time, 	with no definite present intention of later removing therefrom. Residence without the requisite intention to remain indefinitely will not suffice to constitute domicile, nor will intention to change domicile effect such a change unless accompanied by actual removal.

An alien not domiciled in the U.S. generally is subject to U.S. estate tax and gift tax only on certain U.S.-situs assets. Conversely, an alien domiciled in the United States is subject to U.S, estate, and gift tax on his or her worldwide assets. U.S. domicile depends on a person’s intent to make the United States a permanent home.

Thus, the effect of the proposed visa changes on U.S. estate and gift tax would be a factual determination. A U.S. tax resident, even with lawful permanent income tax U.S. residency, is not automatically a U.S. domiciliary. Thus, a crucial factor would be the applicant’s reason for obtaining a Gold Card or Platinum Card.

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[1] Currently, the United States has a “pay to obtain a visa” program, the EB program. It is a very costly, time consuming, and slow process.  Moreover, the program has quotas by country. The U.S. State Department announced on September 16, 2025, that it had issued all available immigrant visas under the program for 2025.

[2] A recent report indicates that at least 17 countries offer “Golden Visa” programs analogous to the Gold Card.

[3] Experts have suggested that $1 million is too “cheap,” considering, for instance, that similar visas in Singapore cost almost $8 million, New Zealand almost $3 million, and even Samoa almost $1.4 million.

[4] A corporation or similar entity may make a donation on behalf of a Gold Card applicant, but the donation must be $2 million instead of $1 million.

[5] See Treas. Reg. §§ 20.0-1(b)(1) (Estate Tax), 25.2501-1(b) (Gift Tax).