The Gold Card processing fee is expressly nonrefundable, and its gift creates no asset; EB-5 capital is invested at risk in an enterprise, with any repayment depending on the offering terms and project performance. Both routes also involve government fees for the immigrant process under the applicable official schedules.
One is spent; the other is placed at risk
The comparison should be made in accounting terms. Under EB-5 the investor subscribes the qualifying amount into a new commercial enterprise; it may be lost if the project fails, but if the project succeeds it can be returned, with or without gain, once the sustainment period ends. The regional center also charges an administrative fee that is not returned.
Under the Gold Card framework, the processing fee is nonrefundable and the gift is transferred to the U.S. government outright; there is no enterprise, no jobs requirement and nothing to recover in any outcome. Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval founder models both routes for her family.
The EB-5 line shows a large illiquid asset with commercial risk and future fees at each stage; the Gold Card line shows an expense. On top of either, the household pays the government fees of the immigrant process for each family member, legal costs, civil documents and translations. Check every amount on the official page and the USCIS fee schedule on the day of decision.