A coalition of organizations has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking documents related to the Gold Card Visa Program, which allows wealthy foreign nationals to obtain U.S. permanent residency for $1 million.
The Democracy Defenders Fund, along with law firms Colombo & Hurd and Free Information Group, is challenging several government agencies — including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — for failing to release records related to the new visa program.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in early April, follows a February lawsuit by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and immigrant professionals challenging the legality of the Gold Card itself.
“These two lawsuits do different jobs, but they target the same unlawful program,” said Sarah Wilson, partner and Federal Litigation Practice leader at Colombo & Hurd. “The original case challenges the Gold Card scheme as illegal, while the FOIA case seeks to force disclosure of how the administration built and is carrying it out behind closed doors.”
FOIA suit seeks to shine a light on how the Gold Card was built
The new lawsuit states that the organizations submitted FOIA requests earlier this year to several agencies seeking information on how the proposed visa program was created and is being implemented. The complaint asks a federal court to compel the government to produce that information.
“Regardless of what motivated the plaintiffs to file their FOIA requests, they are entitled to substantive responses, even with permitted redactions,” says litigator Steven Reingold, partner at Saul Ewing. “Looking at the litigation from an EB-5 standpoint, it will be interesting to see what the plaintiffs receive, either after litigating the issues or after a settlement is reached, and then share with the public.”
The plaintiffs argue that the agencies’ refusal to produce documents reflects a “pay-to-play” scheme that harms the broader immigration system, benefits the ultra-wealthy, and disadvantages skilled professionals who could contribute to the U.S. economy.
“If there was, in fact, sunshine on communications between Secretary [of Commerce, Howard] Lutnick and [USCIS regarding the administrative approval process for “Gold Card” benefits, this lawsuit and others would not be necessary,” said Robert C. Cornish, litigation attorney and Managing Shareholder, Law Offices of Robert V. Cornish, Jr., PC. “This is precisely the purpose behind FOIA. Should this action prove successful, it will be the beginning of the end for the ‘Gold Card’ program.”
The first lawsuit against the Gold Card remains pending in the same court.
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