IN THIS GUIDE · Whether the Gold Card changes how a business owner in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is taxed on income earned outside the United States
Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
What the fee and the gift are for
Trumpcard.gov describes an immigration pathway, not a tax product. An individual principal pays a non-refundable US$15,000 processing fee, then, after successful vetting and only when instructed, makes a US$1,000,000 gift. That qualifying gift serves as evidence toward the specified benefit. You must still meet permanent-residence requirements, be admissible, and have a visa available under an EB-1 or EB-2 determination. The individual applicant’s gift is a payment to the U.S. government, not money invested in the applicant’s business. The Gold Card is not a conventional visa and is not an equity investment, so a business valuation, an operating-company share certificate or a promise of future investment does not substitute for the required payment.
Permanent residence taxes worldwide income
A United States lawful permanent resident is taxed on worldwide income, including income earned outside the country. The Gold Card creates no exemption from that general rule and no special carve-out for a company you keep abroad. Whether any relief, credit or treaty position applies to your particular facts, and what reporting follows, is a question for a qualified cross-border tax adviser reviewing your actual holdings. Decide when to obtain cross-border tax advice before changing residence or distributing company funds. The relevant records may include corporate financial statements, shareholder agreements, compensation history, property basis and prior tax filings, not merely the personal cash balance used for immigration fees.
Company value is not the gift
The gift is not EB-5 capital and not equity, with no promised dividend or return; no EB-5-style job-creation requirement applies. Shares in your operating company cannot substitute for the amount itself. If a hypothetical American subsidiary sponsored you instead, the corporate route is US$15,000 plus a US$2,000,000 gift per employee, with 1% annual maintenance and 5% where a transfer mechanism is used. Keep the operating-company analysis separate from program eligibility. Ownership, control, dividends and sale restrictions may matter to tax and commercial planning, but they do not turn a private-company asset into the program’s required gift payment.
Sequence your advisers around the actual steps
The published sequence runs from the online application and fee, through USCIS instructions and Form I-140G supporting documents filed in the official portal, to vetting, the gift when instructed, an EB-1 or EB-2 determination, then visa availability, interview and any additional documents. Review category and chargeability early. Nothing here guarantees approval, timing or citizenship, so book tax work against decision points, not hopes. A practical sequence is to preserve the official instructions, gather identity and admissibility records, complete the requested filing, await the required notice, and make no irreversible business or travel decision based only on an expectation of approval. Program steps do not remove ordinary admissibility or visa-availability requirements.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.