IN THIS GUIDE · Assign responsibility for the corporate Gold Card terms beyond the initial gift
Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Read the continuing corporate terms
The official FAQ lists 1% annual maintenance and 5% transfer including a new background check. Review the applicable terms and instructions rather than assuming the corporate gift is the company’s only commitment. Do not infer a calculation base or due date that the available instructions do not establish. The useful next decision is whether the written record supports this point now or identifies a specific document to obtain.
Name the responsible company function
Identify who will receive relevant communications, retain payment records and obtain company authorization for later action. A change of finance staff should not leave the actual sponsorship records inaccessible. This is an internal planning measure, not a government-prescribed job title or approval procedure. Keep the source document beside the conclusion so a later reader can see why the point was accepted or deferred.
Distinguish a transfer plan from an approved replacement
The FAQ describes using the earlier corporate gift for another employee under its transfer terms without another US$2 million gift. That does not eliminate the stated transfer charge, new background check or the new person’s review. Do not treat an internal replacement announcement as completed immigration processing. Do not let a label decide the issue when the contemporaneous facts point elsewhere.
Preserve the underlying eligibility conditions
The current corporate principal terms are US$15,000 nonrefundable processing and a US$2 million gift after successful vetting and instructions. The resulting EB-1 or EB-2 permanent residence remains subject to eligibility, admissibility and visa availability. A company’s administrative plan does not guarantee any applicant’s decision. Resolve that question before treating the plan, offer, or timetable as settled.
Follow the official payment sequence and individual amounts
Determine whether the proposed payment purchases shares, property or a loan claim, pays an adviser or makes the instructed government gift. The official description ties the outcome to an existing employment-based category as determined by the authorities and subject to visa availability. Confirm the actual official stage and recipient before sending money; a forwarded message or private invoice should not be treated as proof that government vetting has succeeded. Re-verify the current official terms directly before transferring anything: the amounts, the payee, the sequence of vetting and payment, and what happens on refusal. Do not assume an adviser’s updated address book changes the government’s records or that an unread message automatically pauses a deadline. A request to wire funds to a private escrow account, a consultant's corporate account or an intermediary abroad does not match a program in which the gift is made to the U.S. government.
Separate commercial capital from the government gift
Gifts are not EB-5 capital or equity, and approval, timing and citizenship are not guaranteed. EB-5 places capital at risk in a business that must create ten jobs, and the capital may be returned; the Gold Card gift goes to the U.S. government and is not returned. Immigration screening, identity records, family treatment and timing remain separate questions. A transfer made to the wrong recipient is generally not recoverable, and the correspondence is what any bank or authority will ask to see. Money moves from the applicant to the United States government; nothing is granted, gifted or paid by the government to anyone.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.