The official page expressly makes the initial DHS processing fee non-refundable. It requests the individual gift only after successful vetting, and that unrestricted gift is not an EB-5 investment or a purchase carrying a commercial repayment right. The couple should follow only the current official payment instructions and re-verify the terms immediately before transferring funds.
Plan for the money to be irrecoverable
The published structure has two different payment stages. The applicant first pays a non-refundable DHS processing fee with the application. Hypothetical example: if a retired Lake Country couple do not pass vetting, that processing fee is not refunded, but the official sequence does not call for their individual gift before successful vetting.
Only after vetting does the government instruct an applicant to make the unrestricted gift, which is not an EB-5 investment and carries no commercial repayment entitlement. Department of State visa fees, medical examinations and professional advice are separate. The couple should use only the payment method and timing stated in their official instructions, retain every receipt and re-check the programme page immediately before any transfer.
The original hypothetical of paying the gift and then failing an ordinary EB-2 career test does not describe the current framework.