Skip to content
MARKSTAY-WARREN · GOLD CARD FIELD GUIDE

Does a company’s existing Gold Card contribution qualify its replacement employee?

Sources checked:

THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. Published corporate transfer terms allow the existing gift contribution to support another employee under the programme’s process, but the replacement still needs a new background review and the required legal eligibility.

Distinguish a reusable contribution from an approval

Identify the proposed employee and the applicable EB-1 or EB-2 basis, admissibility and visa availability. Ask which instructions govern this transfer rather than assuming a corporate HR decision completes it. The published 5% transfer charge includes a new background check; it is not a purchase of automatic approval. A contribution associated with someone else’s case cannot establish the replacement’s personal qualifications.

A nonrefundable processing fee of fifteen thousand United States dollars per person, successful vetting, and then a gift of one million dollars to the U.S. government, or two million where a corporate sponsor gives in respect of an employee. Under the current official framework, a corporate sponsor applies for an employee, pays the per-employee processing fee and gift, and the sponsored employee may receive lawful permanent resident status through EB-1 or EB-2 if otherwise eligible, admissible, and a visa is available.