As reviewed on 7 September 2026, the individual route lists a US$15,000 nonrefundable DHS processing fee and a US$1 million gift after vetting. Corporate and family terms differ.
Budget beyond the headline figure
Account separately for each participating person, applicable State Department charges, medical examination and professional assistance. Request current written figures and payment instructions before committing funds. A government gift is not a purchase of an investment asset, and the ability to pay is not an approval guarantee.
Written, dated figures from the official source are the only ones worth planning against. Hypothetical example: A commercial real-estate advisory principal receives a spreadsheet from an intermediary showing a single all-in cost for the household. That document settles nothing: it does not say who receives each amount, which are government charges and which are the intermediary’s own, which are refundable, at what stage each falls due, or when the figures were last checked.
Ask instead for the official schedule as published, captured with its date, together with a separate written engagement setting out professional charges. Note that the amounts already quoted on this page were recorded on the date stated and may be revised, which is why they should be re-verified before any transfer. A gift to the Department of Commerce, deposited in a separate Treasury fund, is not an investment and buys no asset, so no part of it should be budgeted as recoverable.