IN THIS GUIDE · Read the official gift terms before a Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury harvesting contractor lets a broker finance a Gold Card
Start with the GOLD CARD eligibility and application overview
Check the official framework, not the broker's summary
As read on the official FAQ on the review date, an individual principal's gift is stated as US$1 million with a US$15,000 nonrefundable processing fee, with the same gift and fee for each accompanying spouse or unmarried child under 21, and a corporate track with different figures. Those numbers and the process steps are the government's to change, so treat the FAQ as a dated source and confirm the operative instructions immediately before paying. A broker's brochure that quotes different amounts, promises timelines or describes the gift as refundable is describing something other than the program.
Question the idea of borrowing the gift
The official process describes the applicant making a gift after vetting and on instruction from the authorities, and the applicant must still document identity, background and the funds involved. A loan arranged by an intermediary raises questions the file will have to answer: who the lender is, what security is taken, whether the applicant can be said to be making the gift, and how the arrangement will be described when the funds are examined. Ask counsel whether the official instructions permit or address borrowed funds before agreeing to anything, and do not sign a financing agreement to meet a broker's deadline.
Keep vetting and admissibility separate from the payment
Paying the processing fee starts a process; it does not decide it. The applicant must be eligible for the immigrant classification the authorities assign, must pass background vetting, must be admissible to the United States and must have a visa number available. A contractor with a clean history should still expect questions about the fleet sale, the contract assignments and the origin of the money, and any past immigration or criminal matter, however old, must be disclosed and assessed before the fee is paid rather than discovered after.
Compare with the alternatives on their own terms
The obvious comparison is EB-5, which places capital at risk in an enterprise that must create ten jobs and which can, if the project succeeds, return the money. The Gold Card gift is irrevocable by design and returns nothing. That difference affects tax treatment, estate planning and the household's liquidity, and it should be examined with an accountant. The same applies to less expensive routes: if the contractor's real objective is to work with the operator that bought his contracts, an employment-based route may exist that involves no gift at all.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.