Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Start with the published US-dollar amounts
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 plus US$15,000, including corporate cases, with individual CSPA review. A currency estimate should identify its date and actual transaction terms without changing these programme amounts. The requested amount is a payment by the applicant to the U.S. government; it is not a conventional visa and it is not an investment in a commercial enterprise. A corporate sponsor may have its own published conditions, but it does not erase the individual’s background review, eligibility questions or the need to document who is the actual applicant for each payment.
Do not turn a funding estimate into an immigration guarantee
EB-1/EB-2 eligibility, admissibility and immigrant-visa availability remain necessary. The gift is not EB-5 invested capital, equity or guaranteed repayment. Corporate terms include published 1% annual maintenance and 5% transfer with new background review and actual programme conditions. Separate currency and private service costs from any official State Department visa and medical charges; a funded account does not itself grant residence, US work permission or a promised completion date. Sequence vetting, official instructions, payment evidence and the separate immigrant-visa process rather than assuming one receipt settles all later questions. The first review should also distinguish nonrefundable processing from the instructed gift and from counsel, medical, travel or currency-conversion costs. A source document showing available money does not itself prove admissibility, visa availability or approval. Before committing funds, confirm the current official instruction and retain the confirmation that identifies the person and purpose of the payment. A third party’s estimate or a promotional summary cannot substitute for the programme’s actual payment direction.
Separate employer promises from official instructions
The official FAQ describes successful applicants receiving lawful permanent resident status through EB-1 or EB-2 as appropriately determined, subject to availability. An adviser’s proposal can define the work offered but cannot change the government’s eligibility requirements or make a private invoice proof that an official payment was received. The gift under this program is paid out: it buys no equity, promises no return, carries no job-creation obligation, and is not measured against the cost of establishing anything. Read the current official instructions immediately before action and record the applicable path, covered people and payment stage. 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. Retain notices, payment confirmations, sponsorship authority, and dated program materials in a single chronology. Where a message quotes no reference number, or quotes one that does not match the others, treat it as unverified until the official channel confirms it — those fields are what separate an authentic notice from an imitation.
The underlying classification still has to be satisfied
Because the programme runs through existing employment-based classifications rather than a new one, the ordinary requirements of the classification used still apply, as do the ordinary grounds of inadmissibility. Ask what official application mechanism currently exists, what immigration screening follows, and what family rules apply. If a notice conflicts with the official portal, investigate before acting on either. A statement by an intermediary about what the government will return is a statement by that intermediary, and its value depends entirely on whether it is accurate.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.