Under the official FAQ checked September 7, 2026, each joining spouse or unmarried child under 21 adds a US$15,000 processing fee and a US$1 million gift. The FAQ directs that family members be included in the initial application; payment does not itself grant them any status.
Each family member carries a full fee and a full gift
The family terms on the official page are not a discount structure. Hypothetical example: the architect, his wife and their two teenage children would, on the published figures, involve four processing fees of US$15,000 and four gifts of US$1 million if all four are included, and the FAQ indicates that inclusion should happen at the initial application. A child who turns 21 before the residence step may cease to qualify as a joining child, so birth dates must be checked against the timetable.
Payment for a family member does not give that person any immigration status in the interim; the wife's ability to accompany him now still rests on TD status, which permits study but not work, and the children's schooling continues under TD. If the wife would prefer to remain in Canada and not pursue U.S. residence, she should be left out of the application rather than included and later withdrawn, since the processing fee is described as nonrefundable.
Confirm the family terms on the official page at the time of applying, because they are the item most likely to be misquoted by intermediaries.