The official page describes the processing fee as nonrefundable and the gift as a gift to the U.S. government payable after successful vetting; it does not describe a refund. The family should ask the official source directly and pay nothing before the stage at which the program requires it.
A gift is not held on the family's behalf
The word gift is used deliberately on the official page. Unlike EB-5 capital, which is invested in an enterprise and may be returned commercially if the business succeeds, the Gold Card gift, as described on 2026-09-07, is a payment to the U.S. government after successful vetting, with no enterprise and no return.
The processing fee, stated at US$15,000 per person, is described as nonrefundable. The family's protection lies in sequencing: pay the processing fee only when current official terms are in hand, pay the gift only at the stage the official instructions specify after vetting succeeds, and pay nothing to any intermediary or account the official process does not identify. Ask, through the official channel and in writing, whether any circumstance permits return of the gift once paid, and record the answer with its date.
Do not treat the amounts as comparable to EB-5's investment threshold; the two programs ask for different kinds of money.