Under the official terms as checked on September 7, 2026, a nonrefundable US$15,000 processing fee per person, a US$1 million gift for the principal and a further US$1 million gift for each joining spouse or child, plus professional and immigrant-stage fees. Re-verify before paying.
Multiply honestly, then add the invisible lines
Hypothetical example: the household reads the headline individual gift and budgets that figure alone. Under the terms re-verified on September 8, 2026, a principal, a spouse and two children mean four nonrefundable processing fees and four gifts, which is several times the headline. Add professional help with the Gold Card application and any ordinary employer-sponsored alternative, immigrant-stage government fees on the USCIS and State Department schedules, medical examinations, and cross-border tax advice about the gift.
Add the cost of raising the money: interest if the family borrows against a house and tax if it sells investments. Then place beside it the cost and dependence of an employer-sponsored route. The comparison should be written down with a date, and the official Gold Card terms must be re-verified before any transfer.