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OSLER · GOLD CARD FIELD GUIDE

Does a family checklist establish that every relative is eligible?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. Identify intended eligible family initially and assess actual relationships, ages and individual case requirements. Current official terms add a US$15,000 processing fee and US$1,000,000 gift for each eligible joining spouse or unmarried child under 21, including corporate cases; confirm individual eligibility and the operative instructions.

Use the real people and records

A completed box is not proof of the underlying condition.

Identity and civil documents for every person to be included, a written record of the source of the gift and fee funds, the household's complete immigration and criminal history, and a dated copy of the official instructions. The Gold Card framework produces permanent residence through an existing employment-based classification, and derivative status in those classifications extends to the principal's spouse and unmarried children under 21. An employment-based immigrant petition's provisions for a spouse and unmarried children under 21 operate under that petition's own governing rules, and participating in the Gold Card program separately does not modify or expand those provisions. Whether any statutory protection could apply depends on the facts and on the programme's current terms, and it is precisely the kind of question that should be put to a licensed U.S. immigration attorney before a nonrefundable fee is paid for anyone in the household.