Substantially. Each joining spouse and unmarried child under 21 must be considered in the initial application and adds a further US$15,000 processing fee and US$1 million gift. A four-person household is therefore counted four times, and the household should budget without assuming recovery of the gift portion. Run the household total before comparing routes.
Compare households, not individuals
Headline figures describe one principal, and a family comparison drawn from them understates the Gold Card side. Build the total from the actual list of people, then ask how the other route treats family members under its current rules rather than assuming the pattern is the same. The difference between a single-applicant comparison and a household comparison can reverse which route looks affordable, so do it before any conversation about payment.
Build the total from the actual list of people rather than from a headline figure describing one principal, because a family comparison drawn from single-applicant numbers understates one side substantially. Each joining spouse and each unmarried child under twenty-one must be considered in the initial application and adds a further nonrefundable processing fee and a further gift amount, so a four-person household is counted four times and should budget without assuming recovery of the gift portion. Then ask how the other route treats family members under its current rules rather than assuming the pattern is the same.
The difference can reverse which route looks affordable.