IN THIS GUIDE · Sequence a Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval founder's decision between a Gold Card gift and an EB-5 investment
Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Step one: establish admissibility before touching the official form
Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval software founder who sold her company wants to apply quickly. The first task is a full review of her immigration and legal history, because vetting is part of the process and the fee is not refunded on refusal. A prior overstay, a refused visa or an unresolved legal matter should be identified and assessed before any payment, not discovered afterwards.
Step two: identify the underlying immigrant category and check the Visa Bulletin
The official description ties the outcome to an existing employment-based category as determined by the authorities and subject to visa availability. That category's requirements and its position in the Visa Bulletin for the applicant's chargeability govern the wait. A founder born in a backlogged country may face a delay the gift does not shorten. Confirm the category and the bulletin before deciding whether the framework helps.
Step three: decide whether EB-5 runs in parallel or instead
EB-5 places capital at risk in an enterprise and can return it; the Gold Card gift is consumed. Running both may be legally possible but doubles cost and requires two separate source-of-funds records. Decide with counsel and a tax adviser which uncertainty the founder prefers: commercial risk within a defined statutory process, or a new framework with a defined nonrefundable cost.
Step four: pay only against a dated copy of the official terms
Save the official page and FAQ as read on the day of payment, with the amounts, and keep the payment records. The official FAQ does not state that Gold Card funds must be documented under EB-5 lawful-source and path rules, so do not present that as a program condition; follow any supporting-document instructions issued through Form I-140G. Do not resign, sell the family home or withdraw children from Québec schools on the basis of a submitted application; nothing in the framework authorizes work or study while it is pending.
Follow the official payment sequence and individual amounts
Corporate terms include published 1% annual maintenance and 5% transfer with new background review and actual programme conditions; a recruitment substitution is not automatically a completed programme transfer. After vetting when instructed, the gift to the United States is US$1 million for an individual applicant or US$2 million for a corporate sponsor; each eligible included spouse or child adds US$1 million and processing, including corporate cases. The decisive record for a Gold Card payment is the official instruction identifying the applicant and official payee, not a consultant invoice or an employer’s reimbursement promise. A sponsor’s promise to reimburse does not make its account the official payer or convert a private transfer into the required gift payment by the applicant. The record that settles the point is the government instruction, not a presentation deck or a payment request forwarded by an intermediary.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.