A surname is not the dependent test. The official family framework concerns an eligible spouse and unmarried children under 21, with initial inclusion recommended.
Establish the actual relationships
Each intended eligible joining relative adds US$15,000 processing and a US$1 million gift, including with corporate sponsorship. Connect identity and relationship records accurately, especially if family members use different names. A shared surname neither removes those charges nor supplies eligibility for another relative, and payment does not itself grant status.
Family derivative eligibility on an employment-based petition follows that petition's own rules; Gold Card participation is a separate track with its own terms and does not alter the petition's existing family provisions. List each person the case actually covers, mark whether they are a legally married spouse or an unmarried child under 21, attach the document that establishes it, then apply the published per-person amounts and compare the result with the demand. Ask counsel which family member's documents are most likely to generate a request, since a single missing item for one child can hold the entire case, and that person's records are worth checking first rather than last.