Current official terms require each eligible joining spouse or unmarried child under 21 to be included in the initial application and pay an additional $15,000 processing fee and $1 million gift, including corporate cases; the terms should be re-verified before money moves.
Confirm dependent treatment before assuming inclusion
Each family member’s eligibility and processing remain individual. Do not assume the principal’s payment covers the household or that an accompanying relative receives status without the required application, fee, gift and adjudication.
Do not assume that a household will be handled under the same rules as another immigration category. Start with official current guidance, then prepare a family chart with passports, relationship records, ages, current locations, and separate immigration histories. Hypothetical example: A regional-airport planning consultant wants to include an adult sibling who has lived with the family for years. Household dependence may matter personally, but it cannot be treated as legal eligibility without an official rule that says so. The decision is whether the program’s current terms address each person, not whether the family intends to travel together. Keep no promises about employment or schooling until the official status terms and any accompanying authorization are clear.
A family chart should distinguish relationships that are documented from relationships that are merely social or financial. If a proposed traveller is not clearly addressed by current official materials, obtain qualified advice before presenting that person as included in a program application.