Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Reconcile the case before taking the next step
Identify submitted information, official requests, actual payment status and who is authorized to act. Follow the applicable instructions for the actual case. Changing advisers does not waive EB-1/EB-2 eligibility, admissibility or visa-availability requirements. Reconciliation means checking each answer against the supporting record before a new representative repeats it: identity and travel documents, employment history, relationship records, prior immigration history, notices, portal messages and receipts should tell the same story. If a former representative uploaded a response, retain the submitted version and the proof of delivery. The practical decision is whether the open item is a request for evidence, a payment instruction, a representation update or simply an internal copy request; treating all of them as a new application risks a missed deadline or an inconsistent answer.
Retain programme amounts and conditions
Processing is US$15,000 nonrefundable per person. After vetting when instructed, principal gifts are US$1 million individually or US$2 million corporately; each eligible included spouse or child adds US$1 million and processing. Corporate 1% annual and 5% transfer charges have additional conditions. Private fees are separate, gifts are not EB-5 capital, and no adviser can guarantee approval, timing or citizenship. Eligible children generally must be unmarried and under 21; assess any applicable CSPA protection on the individual case facts. The Gold Card is not a conventional visa category. Re-verify all official terms before any money moves. Do not describe a professional retainer, a business investment or an EB-5 contribution as the official gift. The payment route, person responsible and timing must follow the actual government instruction, and the file should retain the instruction, bank confirmation, receipt and case reference together. Hypothetical example: A Highlands museum-exhibit fabricator receives an invoice from a consultant labelled "Gold Card government package" while preparing an individual application. The invoice combines the consultant's retainer with an estimated government amount. The applicant must decide whether to pay the private invoice for services and wait for the separate official instruction, or treat the combined invoice as the required payment. Only the latter instruction can identify the applicant's required payment to the U.S. government; a payment to a consultant does not establish that condition. The applicant should also decide whether an unmarried twenty-year-old child will be included before the initial filing, because each included family member has a separate processing charge and gift under the programme description. No payment, adviser change or business plan guarantees approval, permanent residence, a particular timeline or citizenship.
Identify whether the proposal is individual or corporate
Corporate sponsorship concerns employees and includes 1% annual maintenance and a 5% transfer fee with a new background check. The payment moves in one direction only, from the applicant to the U.S. government, and it purchases neither a classification nor a waiver of any ground of inadmissibility. The payment made after vetting is a gift to the United States government, not an investment: it produces no return, no equity, no job-creation credit and no interest, and it should never be described or compared as though it were an EB-5 investment. The official page describes background vetting, not an EB-5-style source-and-path-of-funds test. Successful applicants proceed through the existing EB-1 or EB-2 immigrant classifications, subject to the requirements of whichever classification applies, to admissibility, and to visa availability. The first review should identify the sponsor, employee, funding responsibility and any later replacement proposal without assuming a company payment erases the employee’s individual screening.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.