Read the general immigrant investor briefing overview
Two numbers in a Gold Card or EB-5 conversation can look almost alike and mean nothing alike. One is a threshold set by statute for capital that stays at risk inside a business. The other is the size of a gift made to the U.S. government and never returned. Before any money moves, write down which programme the figure comes from, what event triggers it, and who ends up holding it. This worksheet does that for both routes.
For EB-5, verify the applicable investment basis
The reduced EB-5 threshold is a fact about where the new commercial enterprise puts its money, meaning a qualifying targeted employment area or an infrastructure project, and never about where the investor happens to live; a Grimsby address earns no discount. Which figure applies is fixed by the rules in force on the petition’s filing date, and those figures are subject to statutory adjustment beginning 1 January 2027, so a number quoted in a brochure printed last year may already be the wrong one. Underneath the threshold the substantive conditions do not move: the capital must be lawfully sourced and genuinely at risk, the required jobs for qualifying U.S. workers must be created, and the investor must actually participate in management or in policy formulation. Note what is carved out of qualifying capital. A contractual right to have the investment repaid does not count, and neither does any guaranteed rate of return. An enterprise’s option to redeem the interest purely at its own discretion sits within a statutory exception, subject to the sustainment requirement and to every other governing condition; it is not a promise the investor can call on.
For Gold Card, identify the instructed gift and applicants
The Gold Card sequence runs the opposite way from an investment. Nothing is sent until vetting has succeeded and official instructions have issued, and the payment is a gift to the U.S. government rather than capital placed in a business, so there is no return, no repayment and no equity. The principal amount differs depending on whether an individual or a corporate employer is the payer, and each intended eligible joining family member carries its own stated additional amounts, which is why the official material recommends naming them at the start rather than adding them later. The underlying immigrant eligibility does not disappear: EB-1 or EB-2 qualification, admissibility and visa availability still govern the outcome. On the corporate side, budget for the stated one per cent annual maintenance and the five per cent charge on transferring an allocation, which triggers a fresh background check. Reusing a gift for a replacement employee approves nobody automatically.
Keep private commitments separate from official events
Private paperwork and official events are easy to confuse when both arrive by email. A subscription agreement, or a reserved allocation in a regional-centre offering, is a contract with a private issuer; it does not lock in the threshold that will apply, because the applicable figure is read at filing and the filing has not happened. An indicative figure quoted by an adviser, a bank or a promoter is likewise not the government instruction that starts the Gold Card payment step. Before any transfer, name three things in writing: who receives the funds, what obligation the payment discharges, and which stage of which case it belongs to. Money that has moved is evidence of a payment, not evidence of an immigration outcome.
Distinguish capital, official gifts and residence stages
Set the two ladders side by side. On the EB-5 side, as at 7 September 2026 the qualifying capital is US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 where the project qualifies as a targeted employment area or infrastructure investment, with statutory adjustments due to begin on 1 January 2027. Approval of the petition is not residence. The immigrant visa or adjustment step follows, then two years of conditional status, and the conditions come off only on a Form I-829 filed in the ninety days before the second anniversary of that conditional residence. On the Gold Card side the money is structured differently: a nonrefundable US$15,000 fee for each person and, once vetting succeeds and instructions issue, a gift to the U.S. government of US$1,000,000 from an individual or US$2,000,000 from a corporate payer, with each eligible joining spouse or unmarried child under twenty-one adding a further US$15,000 and US$1,000,000. Corporate maintenance and transfer terms should be re-confirmed against the official page before anything is sent. Neither ladder guarantees eligibility, admissibility, an available visa number, or a timeline.
What else is on your mind?
Does an EB-5 immigration review tell me whether an investment is good?Is the Gold Card another name for EB-5?Should I assume one Gold Card payment covers my family?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.