Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Read the schedule by payment purpose
Official processing is US$15,000 nonrefundable per person. After successful vetting, the instructed gift is US$1 million for an individual principal or US$2 million per corporate-sponsored employee. Each eligible included spouse or unmarried child under 21 adds US$1 million and US$15,000, with case-specific CSPA review. A private retainer, instalment agreement or invoice label does not change those programme amounts or the official gift sequence. Obtain the official instructions, the identity of each applicant or included relative, and a written breakdown that distinguishes government charges from private services. The relevant record is the official notice directing the payment, not an adviser’s summary or a company reimbursement promise. Review whether each family member is eligible for inclusion and whether the sponsor’s arrangement changes any private obligation without misdescribing the government sequence. For any reimbursement arrangement, retain the agreement and the payment trace separately. A sponsor’s promise to reimburse does not make its account the official payer or convert a private transfer into the required gift payment by the applicant. The practical decision is whether the instructions name the applicant, the amount and recipient correctly before money moves. An internal expense authorization is not the controlling record.
Keep programme eligibility separate from payment administration
Gold Card retains EB-1/EB-2 eligibility, admissibility and immigrant-visa availability. A gift is not EB-5 invested capital, equity or a promise of repayment. Corporate arrangements carry published 1% annual maintenance and 5% transfer terms with new background review and actual programme conditions. Official State Department visa and medical costs may also arise; neither a private all-inclusive quote nor payment itself guarantees residence, work permission, approval or a completion date. The required gift is a payment by the applicant to the U.S. government after successful vetting; it is never a conventional visa or an investment producing ownership. The review must still test EB-1 or EB-2 eligibility, admissibility and visa availability. Confirm who pays, when payment is instructed and what cannot be refunded. The practical decision is whether the case can proceed under the programme’s conditions, rather than whether a private invoice uses reassuring language. Sequence eligibility before financial administration. Compare the documents required for the claimed EB-1 or EB-2 basis with the route actually claimed, then resolve admissibility and visa availability before treating a payment instruction as a result. A private adviser can organize records, but cannot substitute a category decision with a fee schedule. This avoids the common error of assuming a corporate offer converts a payment plan into an immigrant classification.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.