Do not assume a credit. The published Gold Card commitment is a separate US$15,000 nonrefundable processing charge per person, followed by the applicable gift after vetting. A retainer and a government charge are governed by different instruments, and only one of them has terms you can negotiate. Money paid to a private adviser sits under an engagement agreement with its own termination and refund clauses; a published government payment sits under published conditions, including a charge described as nonrefundable.
Identify what each earlier payment purchased
A lawyer’s retainer, an earlier filing charge and the current government processing payment are different transactions. Use the current official instructions and resolve any private refund question under the actual agreement rather than subtracting it from a government payment. Handle any refund question where it actually belongs.
Read the engagement agreement from the earlier matter, look at what the invoices describe as delivered, and take that up with the firm on its own footing; nothing about that conversation reduces a payment the official instructions require. Keep the two ledgers apart on paper as well, one recording private professional costs and one recording official charges, each with its receipts. Amounts, sequence and conditions published for this route should be read from the official source at the time a payment is authorised rather than from a summary prepared earlier, since a figure repeated from a previous discussion may no longer be the one that applies.