US$15,000 in nonrefundable processing plus a US$1,000,000 gift after vetting under the FAQ checked September 7, 2026, with none of it returned if he later loses or gives up permanent residence; visa-stage fees are extra.
The gift is permanent even if the residence is not
For a single applicant the published amounts are a US$15,000 processing fee, payable at application and described as nonrefundable, and a US$1,000,000 gift to the U.S. government made after successful vetting. On top come the immigrant-visa fees, medical examination, the USCIS immigrant fee for the card and any professional and translation costs, with government amounts listed on the official schedules.
The critical point for a Cantley-based consultant is that the gift is not tied to keeping the status: if permanent residence is later found abandoned because he lived mainly in Canada, or if he surrenders it, the money is not returned. That asymmetry, a permanent payment for a status that his own living pattern could forfeit, is the reason to settle the residence question first. The corporate figures, a US$2,000,000 gift with maintenance and transfer fees, apply only to employer-sponsored cases.
Hypothetical example: an independent bookshop owner counts only the advertised payment and assumes the family can be added without further cost. The first review should obtain the current official schedule, calculate every included person’s fee and gift, and separate those outlays from legal, medical, and immigrant-processing costs. An individual may make the $1 million gift, while a corporation or similar entity may make the $2 million corporate gift on a person’s behalf.
The gift is treated as evidence under an existing EB-1 or EB-2 classification; it is not a recoverable investment or the price of a new conventional visa category. A changed family composition can materially change the budget.