IN THIS GUIDE · Ask the right questions before an individual Gold Card gift for a family of four
Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Understand what is being paid and to whom
The Gold Card is not a conventional visa category with its own statutory eligibility. Under the official framework, an applicant pays a nonrefundable processing fee of US$15,000 per person to the Department of Homeland Security, and, after successful vetting, makes a gift of US$1,000,000 to the U.S. government as an individual principal. The gift is unconditional; it is not an investment, it earns no return and it is not refunded. That distinguishes it fundamentally from EB-5 capital, which is placed at risk in a business and may in principle be recovered. A consultant comparing the two should treat the gift as a cost, not an asset.
Price the whole household, not the principal alone
Under the current FAQ, each eligible spouse and unmarried child under 21 who joins the application adds a US$15,000 processing fee and a US$1,000,000 gift. For a family of four that means four processing fees and four gifts, not one. The program directs that family members be included in the initial application in order to receive the associated benefits, so a decision to add a child later may not be available on the same terms. Additional consular, medical and immigrant-fee charges apply at the visa stage. A teenager who will turn 21 before the case concludes needs a specific answer from the current instructions before being counted.
Know which immigrant category carries the case
Successful Gold Card cases are processed through the EB-1 or EB-2 employment-based immigrant categories, and the applicant remains subject to category eligibility, admissibility and visa availability. The gift does not waive inadmissibility grounds, does not create a visa number where the category is backlogged, and does not exempt the family from medical and security screening. The consultant’s own record therefore still matters, and the household should ask what happens to the fees if vetting fails or the category is unavailable. Because the framework is new and administered through executive action, the terms should be re-verified on the official page immediately before any payment.
What to ask before paying anything
Ask for the current fee and gift figures in writing from the official site, dated. Ask whether the processing fee is refundable in any circumstance, since the FAQ describes it as nonrefundable. Ask which of EB-1 or EB-2 the case would use and whether the applicant meets that category’s own criteria. Ask how a child approaching 21 is treated. Ask what the residence obligations will be once permanent residence is granted, because a consultant who intends to keep most of his practice in Canada may put his status at risk through prolonged absence. Ask what the family gets if it withdraws. No answer should be inferred from EB-5 practice.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.