The comparison is not one of cost. EB-5 capital is an at-risk investment that may be returned; the Gold Card gift is irrevocable. Compare what each requires of you and what you give up, then confirm current amounts on the official pages before deciding.
One is capital at risk; the other is money given away
On headline numbers alone, the individual Gold Card gift of US$1 million plus a US$15,000 fee sits close to the EB-5 standard amount of US$1,050,000 or the US$800,000 targeted-employment-area figure. That resemblance is misleading. EB-5 money is invested in an enterprise, must create ten full-time jobs, carries commercial risk, and may be repaid if the business performs; it also involves substantial professional fees for source-of-funds and project due diligence and a two-year conditional residence with a further petition. The Gold Card gift is a contribution to the U.S. government with no return and, on the official description, no job-creation requirement, but it also offers no prospect of getting the money back. Government filing fees for the immigrant stages appear in the USCIS fee schedule for either route. A dealership owner should decide which loss he is prepared to accept, not which figure is smaller.
Hypothetical example: a multilingual call-centre owner compares the headline Gold Card amount with an EB-5 proposal. The review should list separate columns: the applicant's nonrefundable processing charge, the applicant's government gift after vetting, any separate amounts for joining relatives, classification work, government immigrant-stage charges and cross-border tax advice. The official instructions, read again immediately before payment, settle the quoted program terms. The decision is not an investment-return comparison: the Gold Card transfer is not expected to generate a commercial return, while EB-5 capital faces business risk and job requirements. Borrowing costs also need their own line.