Under the official terms as of September 7, 2026, each eligible joining spouse or child adds a US$15,000 processing fee and a further US$1 million gift. Children must remain unmarried and under 21 at the relevant time, so ages matter.
Price the household, not the applicant
The official FAQ prices family members separately, and the additive terms are large: a family of four under the published figures is four processing fees and four gifts. That alone changes the comparison with other routes. Beyond price, the family follows the underlying EB-1 or EB-2 case as derivatives, so a spouse and unmarried children under 21 immigrate with the principal, and the Child Status Protection Act's age calculation applies from the petition filing date.
A child near 21 should be identified early because if he ages out he cannot derive and would need his own basis. A spouse who is herself a professional might qualify independently through TN or another category at far lower cost, and that should be examined rather than assumed away. Re-verify the family terms on the official page before committing, since they have been revised and are described as subject to change.
Hypothetical example: An independent-cinema owner is considering the program with a spouse and a 20-year-old child. The first review should list each proposed applicant, relationship document, age, underlying immigrant category and separate amount due, then compare that total with any independent route available to the spouse or child. Passports, civil records and the child's date of birth settle the derivative analysis.
The gift payment is made by each applicant under the official terms; it is not a conventional visa benefit that one principal can share automatically. Do not commit funds until the current family definition and payment sequence have been checked on the official page.