For a single applicant the published figures are a nonrefundable US$15,000 DHS processing fee and, after successful vetting, a US$1 million gift — US$1,015,000 in program payments. Separate visa, medical examination, legal, tax, and translation costs sit on top and are not included in either figure. Neither payment should be budgeted as recoverable.
Budget the tax position too
Permanent residence brings ordinary U.S. tax treatment of worldwide income; the Gold Card is not a tax-free status. Before paying, ask a qualified tax adviser what U.S.
residence would mean for existing business income, investments, pensions, and any planned sale of assets, and whether timing a transaction before or after admission changes the result. That advice is a real cost, and it is usually cheaper than restructuring afterwards. Write the two payments into a plan with dates beside them.
The processing fee is spent at application and is not returned whatever follows; the larger payment is made only when the government instructs it after vetting. Anyone modelling this should treat both as permanently gone, since neither is an investment, neither earns a return, and neither can be recovered if circumstances change afterwards. Hypothetical example: a former feed-mill owner tests the plan by assuming the whole outlay is spent and the application still fails, then asks whether the remaining assets support the intended retirement on either side of the border.