Other visa, medical, and professional costs apply, and they are not folded into the US$15,000 fee or the gift. Legal fees, document and translation work, medical examinations, travel, and relocation sit on top. Worldwide income taxation under ordinary permanent resident rules is a further planning item, so budget for qualified tax advice as well.
Hold a reserve you never intend to spend
A household converting property or business interests should decide in advance what stays untouched. Set aside living costs for the months after arrival, a contingency for a request for further documents, and the tax advice needed before assets move across borders. The program amounts are fixed and known; the surrounding costs are the ones that expand.
Confirm any figure against current official instructions at the time each payment is due. Two costs are commonly left out of first drafts. The first is professional advice on the tax side: lawful permanent residents are taxed on worldwide income under ordinary United States rules, so an asset structure built for a Canadian resident may need attention before anyone moves, and that advice is worth obtaining while choices remain open.
The second is the cost of time, in the sense of a business or practice that needs managing during a process of uncertain length. Neither appears on any official schedule, and both are more predictable than the household usually expects once someone sits down and writes them out.