IN THIS GUIDE · Check whether a corporate Gold Card budget authorizes the full commitment or only the first payment
Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Identify the scope of the employer’s commitment
Separate permission to begin processing from authority to make the later corporate gift and meet ongoing charges. Record who decides, what remains conditional and which employee is covered. A preliminary budget allocation should not be presented as an unconditional promise to fund every later stage. Ask for the approval document and read its conditions line by line. The first review should identify the payor, amount, approval level, deadline, clawback terms and any decision still reserved. That record lets the employee decide whether to begin a process without inventing financial certainty.
Use the published corporate amounts and sequence
The current official terms specify a nonrefundable US$15,000 processing fee per employee and a US$2 million gift per employee after successful vetting and official instructions. Corporate terms also provide for a 1% annual maintenance fee and a 5% transfer fee including a new background check. An internal budget does not replace those published obligations. Confirm the figures and instructions at the official source immediately before acting, because published terms may change. Separate the processing charge from the later gift and from maintenance or transfer obligations. The decision is whether the employer has approved each applicable obligation, not merely a headline amount.
Keep the employee and household eligibility visible
Successful applicants receive EB-1 or EB-2 permanent residence as appropriately determined, subject to eligibility, admissibility and visa availability. Intended joining eligible spouses and unmarried children under 21 should be included initially; each adds US$15,000 and a US$1 million gift, including in a corporate case. Employer funding approval does not establish individual eligibility. Prepare a person-by-person eligibility and cost list before deciding whom to include. The first review should identify each relationship record, age question, expected timing and individual screening issue. An employer’s corporate commitment cannot resolve a family member’s separate eligibility or admissibility question.
Treat unresolved funding as an unresolved planning fact
Clarify whether the employer will continue after the first payment and how the household’s actual costs are addressed. The individual route currently has a US$1 million principal gift after vetting, but a different funding idea should not be assumed to convert an existing corporate case automatically. Follow the applicable official process and avoid promising a residence date. Decide what happens if the employment relationship changes before every required step is complete, and obtain the employer’s actual answer in writing. Compare that answer with the published process rather than relying on a recruiting conversation. No party should promise a result or date before the applicable review is complete.
What the official material describes, in its own terms
The official page also describes a corporate sponsorship track under which a company makes a larger gift, stated as US$2 million per sponsored employee, with terms that tie the benefit to the sponsoring employer. The practical decision is whether the case can proceed under the programme’s conditions, rather than whether a private invoice uses reassuring language. Wait for a verified instruction before treating a payment or a planned move as irreversible. The key records are official programme instructions, the underlying immigrant-category evidence, and payment confirmation. The gift is not an EB-5 investment, and every term must be re-verified from the official page before any money moves.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.