IN THIS GUIDE · Understanding what the nonrefundable US$15,000 processing fee does and does not buy
Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
What the first payment actually covers
The published process starts with an online application accompanied by a nonrefundable US$15,000 DHS processing fee for an individual principal. That payment moves the application into the official channel, after which USCIS issues instructions for supporting documents submitted with Form I-140G through the portal. It does not decide the outcome, confirm eligibility, or reserve a place. Nonrefundable means the money is gone whether the case succeeds or fails. Treat the fee as the price of entering a queue, not of receiving an answer. Before authorising it, write down what the household would do with an approval and what it would do with a refusal; if the two plans are the same, the payment is premature. Record the date, amount, and payer for each individual included, because the fee applies per person.
The gift comes later, and only when instructed
The US$1 million gift for an individual principal follows successful vetting and is made when instructed, not at the moment of application. It is a gift: not an EB-5 investment, not refundable equity, and carrying no promise of return. There are no EB-5 job creation requirements attached. Anyone told to transfer that sum early, or outside the official channel, should stop and verify the instruction independently. The direction of the money matters and is regularly misdescribed. The applicant pays the U.S. government; nothing is granted or paid to the applicant, and the sum is not invested in a business the applicant owns, unlike EB-5 capital. Because it is a gift rather than an investment, there is no return, no equity, and nothing to redeem, and any advertisement suggesting otherwise should be checked against the official instructions.
What money cannot do
Paying the processing fee does not purchase citizenship, and it does not waive a ground of inadmissibility. The applicant must still be eligible for lawful permanent residence and admissible, and the case still leads to an EB-1 or EB-2 determination subject to visa availability. If there is a known immigration problem in the history, raise it with a qualified attorney before paying anything, because the fee will not be returned when that problem surfaces later. List the questions a payment cannot answer: whether the applicant is admissible, whether an old refusal or removal order still bites, whether a criminal record requires a waiver, and whether the immigrant category will be current when the case reaches that stage. Each of those is worth a professional review beforehand, since none of them is cured by having paid.
Different figures apply to corporate sponsorship
Where an employer sponsors under the corporate route, the published amounts differ: a nonrefundable US$15,000 processing fee per employee and a US$2 million gift, with a stated 1% annual maintenance charge and a 5% transfer fee. Family members in corporate cases still carry the additional US$15,000 and US$1 million each. Anyone considering that path should have current terms reviewed rather than relying on a summary. Hypothetical example: a retired ship broker intends to apply as an individual principal while a corporate employer offers to sponsor instead. The two routes carry different published figures and different consequences if the employment ends, so compare them in writing before either fee is paid. Confirm current terms at the official source on the day of payment, since published amounts and processes for this programme have changed since it was announced.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.