This policy update highlights key developments related to federal immigration and visa policies within the Access to Justice program. The update below summarizes recent policy changes and examines their potential impact on South Asian communities and other immigrant populations in the United States.
Gold Card Program
- What is the policy?
- In September 2025, the Trump administration announced a three-tier Gold Card program, which offers an expedited process for a foreign national to obtain an EB-1 or EB-2 visa, also known as a green card, by paying a substantial fee to the U.S. Treasury. The three tiers consist of the individual gold card, the corporate gold card, and the individual platinum card, and applicants for all three cards must pay a $15,000 processing fee and undergo security vetting. These cards serve as additional eligibility for existing EB-1 and EB-2 visas and offer a quicker waiting period than a regular green card, which can take anywhere from eight months to three years. Individuals must pay a $1 million fee while corporations who are sponsoring an individual must pay a $2 million fee plus a 1% annual maintenance fee. When it comes to citizenship, the gold card mirrors the green card – both cards offer eligibility for citizenship after five years of residency and successful completion of the vetting process. If an employee who was sponsored by a company later becomes a citizen, their gold card can be transferred to another employee for a 5% fee. Unlike the gold card, the platinum card does not include a pathway to citizenship, but it permits individuals who pay a $5 million fee to stay in the U.S. for up to 270 days without paying federal income tax on non-U.S. income.
- What are recent changes?
- The initiative was officially launched on December 10, 2025, and applications for the gold card visa went live on a government website.
- How does it impact South Asians?
- Unlike the EB-5 visa, which requires a monetary investment and the creation of full-time jobs, the gold and platinum cards are focused on wealth and don’t benefit U.S. workers. India, along with China, accounts for the highest demand for EB-1 and EB-2 visas, and Indian nationals are currently experiencing multi-year waiting periods to obtain them as a result of annual country caps set by Congress. Introducing a wealth-based fast track will likely add to the backlog and make it even more difficult for many lower and middle class South Asians to secure green cards.
- What don’t we know yet?
- How many times can companies transfer one card?
- Can an individual transfer their card?
- Are derivatives (such as children under the age of 21 and spouses of the applicant) included in the gold card? The implication is that they would be because the gold card is a variation of the EB-1 and EB-2 visas, which do count derivatives
- Is citizenship guaranteed if holders of the gold card successfully complete security vetting, five years of residency, and pay all the required fees? Or does completion of this process simply offer eligibility for citizenship that is ultimately up to DHS’s discretion?
H-1B Wage-Weighted Selection Process
- What is the policy?
- Every year there are 85,000 H-1B slots available, with 65,000 of those reserved for individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree (regular cap) and 20,000 of those reserved for individuals who hold a U.S. master’s degree or higher (master’s cap). If demand exceeds 85,000 slots, USCIS, the agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the visa program, uses a random, computer-generated lottery system.
- What are recent changes?
- In December 2025, USCIS finalized a rule that amends the randomized lottery system to a weighted system, which will use the Department of Labor’s four wage levels to determine the number of entries an applicant receives. For example, if an applicant is being offered a wage level four salary, they will receive four lottery entries. Because applicants with higher salaries will have more entries, the system is expected to favor them. The administration stated that the new system will prioritize highly-skilled workers and strengthen America’s competitiveness instead of using foreign workers as a source of cheap labor, but critics argue that it will favor mid-career professionals who don’t necessarily have more innovative ideas and training than new graduates with entry-level salaries. The new policy goes into effect on February 27, 2026.
- How does it impact South Asians?
- Because Indians make up 70% of the H-1B program, they will be disproportionately harmed by any policies that decrease access to these visas. Recent graduates and early career professionals who are working in emerging fields will have difficulties securing H-1B visas, and the expected long-term effect of this new system is that companies will eventually stop sponsoring H-1B visas.
Department of Justice v. Virginia on In-State Tuition
- What is the policy?
- In 2020, Virginia began granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the state for at least two years. Two years later, Virginia expanded access to higher public education by offering state financial aid to individuals who qualify for in-state tuition.
- What are recent changes?
- On December 29, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Virginia, stating that the policy discriminates against U.S. citizens from other states by providing benefits to undocumented immigrants that those citizens don’t have access to and is, therefore, in violation of federal law. In addition, the DOJ claims that the policy incentivizes illegal immigration. Immigration advocates argue that federal law does not bar states from providing in-state tuition to undocumented students if out-of-state students can also receive in-state tuition by meeting the same residency requirements. The DOJ has brought similar lawsuits against other states, including Texas, California, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Illinois.
- How does it impact South Asians?
- Undocumented immigrants pay a variety of state and local taxes, including sales, property, and income, but they typically aren’t eligible to access many of the social programs, such as non-emergency Medicaid services and subsidized tuition for higher education, that are funded by these taxes. It’s estimated that, in 2022 alone, undocumented immigrants paid almost $100 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue. In-state tuition rates would allow undocumented immigrants to further their education and build economic stability for their families. Texas, California, and Illinois – states that are also facing lawsuits over offering in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants – are some of the states where the highest number of undocumented Indian immigrants live.
Increased Surveillance & Vetting of Non-U.S. Citizens
- What is the policy?
- Previously, U.S. border and visa enforcement relied on a more limited and segmented approach. Biometric collection at entry was standard, but exit biometrics were implemented only through pilot programs at select major airports, with exemptions based on location, age, or travel mode. Separately, social media vetting was applied primarily to student (F-1) and exchange visitor (J-1) visa applicants, while most employment-based visa categories, including H-1B workers and H-4 dependents, were not subject to routine online presence reviews.
- What are recent changes?
- Effective December 26, 2025, USCIS implemented a mandatory biometric entry-exit system requiring facial photographs at every U.S. port of entry and departure—airports, land borders, and seaports—eliminating prior pilot limitations and exemptions. This allows full cross-referencing of travel records with immigration histories and overstay enforcement databases.
- Additionally, effective December 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of State expanded social media vetting requirements to include all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants. Applicants must now disclose their social media accounts and make them publicly accessible for consular review, significantly expanding scrutiny during visa adjudication beyond previous practice.
- How does it impact South Asians?
- South Asians constitute one of the largest and fastest-growing immigrant populations in the United States, with heavy representation in temporary visa categories such as H-1B, F-1, and OPT. The universal biometric entry-exit system increases monitoring of travel behavior, visa compliance, and potential overstays—areas where South Asian nationals are disproportionately affected due to the prevalence of time-limited statuses.
- The expanded social media vetting has had particularly acute consequences for South Asians, especially Indian nationals, who make up the majority of global H-1B visa holders. Reports indicate widespread visa appointment cancellations and rescheduling at U.S. consulates in India, with many interviews delayed into 2026. These disruptions have impacted job start dates, international mobility, and family planning for South Asian professionals and their dependents, intensifying uncertainty within an already complex immigration process.
Hate Crime Legislation Updates
- What are the recent bills and laws?
- Across federal and state levels, lawmakers have introduced and enacted legislation aimed at preventing hate crimes, strengthening institutional accountability, and improving responses to bias-motivated incidents.
- At the federal level, H.R. 6258 – the Disarm Hate Act, introduced in November 2025, seeks to prohibit individuals convicted of violent misdemeanor hate crimes from purchasing or possessing firearms, closing a gap where such offenders could still legally access weapons.
- At the state level, Illinois HB 0040 (introduced January 2025) mandates in-service bias-crime training for police personnel, aiming to improve law enforcement’s ability to identify, respond to, and document hate crimes. Additionally, New York State Senate Bill S4559B, signed into law in August 2025, requires higher education institutions to appoint a Title VI Coordinator responsible for ensuring compliance with federal civil rights protections against discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. And finally, in California, SB 48, signed in October 2025, establishes four statewide discrimination prevention coordinators focused on addressing bias and discrimination in K-12 schools.
- How does it impact South Asians?
- South Asians in the United States have faced rising levels of bias, hate incidents, and discrimination, particularly in public spaces, educational institutions, and workplaces. The Disarm Hate Act has implications for community safety by limiting firearm access for individuals convicted of hate-motivated violence—an issue of concern for visibly identifiable minority communities, including Sikhs, Muslims, and other South Asians.
- State-level measures further affect South Asians in everyday institutional settings. Mandatory bias-crime training for police in Illinois can improve recognition and reporting of hate crimes targeting South Asian communities, who have historically experienced underreporting and misclassification of such incidents. New York’s Title VI Coordinator requirement strengthens protections for South Asian students, many of whom are international or first-generation Americans, by creating clearer accountability mechanisms for addressing discrimination on college campuses. California’s SB 48 similarly impacts South Asian families by embedding anti-discrimination oversight within K-12 education, helping address bullying, racial harassment, and exclusion that South Asian children may face in schools.
Collectively, these legislative efforts signal increased governmental recognition of bias-motivated harm and create stronger legal and institutional frameworks that can improve safety, reporting, and redress for South Asian communities.