Use the official sequence, never an unofficial payment request. The current individual framework begins with an online application and a nonrefundable US$15,000 processing fee; after the payment settles USCIS prompts Form I-140G, and only after successful vetting is the applicant instructed to make the US$1 million gift to the Department of Commerce; it is not EB-5.
Irreversibility dictates the order
The official sequence separates two irreversible payments. An individual first pays the nonrefundable US$15,000 DHS processing fee and undergoes vetting; only after successful vetting and official instructions does the applicant make the US$1 million gift. Form I-140G implements the framework through EB-1A or EB-2 national-interest-waiver classifications, with the gift receiving the prescribed evidentiary treatment, while admissibility and visa availability still matter. The gift is not an EB-5 investment, creates no business interest and does not guarantee approval. Read and date the official terms, resolve known eligibility or admissibility issues, and re-verify the instructions immediately before either payment.
The first review should produce a dated checklist of the official program terms, the applicant’s identity and source records, and the immigration category or procedure the materials identify. An official program page settles what has actually been announced; personal records settle who is applying and how funds were obtained. The decision is whether the applicant accepts a gift made to the government under current terms, not whether the label is being used loosely as an investment option. Hypothetical example: a marine-instrument inventor hears that a business associate can “sponsor” a card, so the applicant checks the official distinction between an individual payment and a corporate payment on someone’s behalf.