Use the actual official instructions provided for the applicant’s case.
Separate official notices from a provider’s estimate
The programme describes State Department directions for visa fees and medical-examination payments. Preserve the relevant notice and receipt, and do not assume a private package description establishes the correct recipient or amount.
Follow the notice issued for the particular applicant and verify its sender, payee, amount, purpose, deadline, and payment channel against the current official site. Save the notice and confirmation together. The program starts online with the US$15,000 nonrefundable DHS processing fee; USCIS later prompts Form I-140G, “Immigrant Petition for the Gold Card Program.” Only following vetting does the government request the US$1 million United States gift, while State Department visa or medical instructions may create separate payments. Because the classification uses EB-1 or EB-2, a private provider’s invoice cannot replace eligibility, admissibility, or visa-availability documentation. Re-verify official directions before any funds move, and keep this gift distinct from EB-5 capital. The familiar error is paying a bundled estimate without an official case instruction.
Hypothetical example: A Larouche software-consultancy founder receives an email demanding a visa fee through an unfamiliar payment link. He compares it with his official notice, checks the program portal instructions, and records the discrepancy instead of paying immediately. His file separates the DHS processing receipt, any later I-140G prompt, the post-vetting gift direction, and each State Department charge so one vendor estimate cannot masquerade as the government record.