Decide on eligibility, not on the identical total. Filing as a principal means your own record is determined on its own merits; being included means your place rests on the marriage and on your spouse's outcome. Both routes examine admissibility, and neither creates an entitlement to approval.
Weighing an independent determination against a derivative place
Compare what each person can establish, available evidence, and consequences of relying on a principal case. Do not merely label profiles 'strong' or 'weak' to promise a better outcome. Counsel can explain differences applicable to this couple. An applicant abroad need not already hold U.S. status to seek this route; that does not waive other requirements.
Everything the official process describes apart from the payment: government vetting, admissibility to the United States, eligibility under the employment-based classification the program uses, and visa availability. Because the case ultimately rests on an existing category, the ordinary conditions of that category continue to apply: admissibility, the medical examination, the security and background review and the availability of a visa number under the visa bulletin. A criminal record, a prior overstay or a medical ground of inadmissibility is not cured by a gift, and no official material describes the gift as a guarantee of approval, a timeline or citizenship.