IN THIS GUIDE · Read the official amounts and conditions behind a promotional explanation
Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Keep the fee and gift sequence accurate
The processing fee is US$15,000 nonrefundable per person. Following successful vetting and official instructions, the gift is US$1 million for an individual principal or US$2 million per corporate-sponsored employee principal. The gift is not EB-5 investment capital and does not promise commercial repayment or a return.
State family charges without a misleading household total
Each eligible joining spouse or unmarried child under 21 separately adds US$15,000 processing and a US$1 million gift, including corporate cases. Initial inclusion is recommended. A phrase such as family included must not imply those charges or the individual eligibility conditions disappear.
Retain corporate conditions in the explanation
The stated corporate terms include 1% annual maintenance and a 5% transfer charge with a new background check. Reuse of a gift is conditional and does not automatically approve a replacement employee. A translation or summary must preserve the difference between conditional transfer and unrestricted approval.
Preserve the government’s role and remaining conditions
The government determines the applicable EB-1 or EB-2 classification, with eligibility, admissibility and visa availability required. Approval, citizenship and timing are not guaranteed. Additional official visa, medical or case charges may apply. A concise explanation should not replace those conditions with a promise that paying a headline amount completes the immigration process.
Use the current official financial terms
The official material states that permanent residence flows through existing employment-based categories as determined by the administering authorities, subject to visa availability. Because public instructions can be updated, save the official page and FAQ accessed for a proposed filing, use only the designated payment mechanism, and seek appropriate regulated advice for legal, tax, and financial questions. Under the official framework and Executive Order 14351, the qualifying gift is treated as evidence relevant to the specified EB-1 or EB-2 basis; the applicant must still be eligible for lawful permanent residence, admissible and have a visa available. A request to wire funds to a private escrow account, a consultant's corporate account or an intermediary abroad does not match a program in which the gift is made to the U.S. government. Create a payment-control sheet that identifies the official page, the receiving government account, the applicant named on the instruction, and the date it was checked. The program's published terms have changed as it has been implemented, so the operative requirement is procedural as well as legal: obtain the current official terms, record the date and the source, and confirm them again immediately before any payment is made. The most damaging mistake available to an applicant is to pay someone other than the official channel; a gift that never reaches the U.S. government is simply lost money, and the program has not been applied for at all. The decision is whether the applicant can satisfy the announced framework and the underlying immigration conditions, not whether a third party describes the payment as a shortcut.
Follow verified payment instructions
Follow verified official instructions rather than sending a gross estimated sale value. 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. Use the official portal and communications to identify the actual recipient and stage of any payment. A first review should produce a checklist of official notices, applicant identity documents, payment proof and time-sensitive appointments. Gold Card is not a conventional visa: it involves a payment by the applicant to the U.S. government and does not itself replace screening, adjudication, or any separate immigration condition. A sponsor, employer or bank can assist with logistics only after the payment source, applicant responsibility and official instructions are clear.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.