Read the general immigrant investor briefing overview
Setting funds aside is not the same as committing them. If you change your mind after reserving money, what happens next depends on the actual documents: what was reserved and where it sits, which fees were paid, and what any escrow agreement says about release and return. There is no blanket rule that everything reserved is refundable, and none that nothing ever is. Read the terms before deciding.
Establish what actually happened to the money
Write a dated list of every movement: transfers made, the account holding the funds and in whose name, and the instructions given. Then classify each item. Money reserved in your own account under your own control is a different thing from a deposit paid to a promoter, from funds placed with an escrow agent, and from fees already spent. EB-5 requires the investment to be at risk, so funds still under your control raise a different question than capital committed to an enterprise. Note how far the file went, including whether anything has been filed.
Read the fee and escrow terms as written
Ask for the executed escrow agreement rather than a summary, and identify the release conditions, the triggering events, who may instruct the agent, and which fees are deducted before any return. Terms vary between projects, so a promoter's description of the arrangement is not the arrangement. For the Gold Card, the official FAQ describes a nonrefundable processing fee and a gift made after successful vetting; published fees exist and should be checked on that official page rather than assumed. Confirm the current instructions directly before any further payment, and keep the version you relied on. For EB-5, the investment must also support qualifying job creation. Gold Card is a government-gift process rather than an EB-5 investment: the official FAQ describes residence through EB-1 or EB-2 subject to category eligibility, admissibility and visa availability. Neither payment alone grants residence or citizenship; included Gold Card relatives have their own steps and costs.
Decide the next step deliberately, not under time pressure
Hypothetical example: an applicant in Boisbriand reserves funds for a project, then receives an employment offer that changes the family's plans entirely. Ask which decisions are still open, whether withdrawing now affects anything already submitted, and how a later restart would be documented, since the lawful source and path of funds would need to be shown again. Eligibility, admissibility and visa availability remain conditions in either comparison, and neither route offers a guaranteed return or a guaranteed approval. Keep independent financial advice running alongside the immigration analysis rather than substituting one for the other.
What else is on your mind?
Does an EB-5 immigration review tell me whether an investment is good?Is the Gold Card another name for EB-5?Should I assume one Gold Card payment covers my family?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.