Clarify whether the scope includes reviewing both the current role and the proposed handover. Separate official charges, professional work and the company’s transition expenses.
Identify changes that add work
Ask how a revised timetable or responsibility split would affect the agreed review. A business cost does not establish eligibility, and a form-preparation quote may not include analysis of an unsettled management structure. Ask for the estimate to be broken into stages that match the facts, because an unsettled management structure is where budgets fail.
A quote covering preparation and filing may assume one role description and one chart; a handover typically produces two of each, plus a revision when the plan changes. Confirm in writing whether re-analysis after a change in authority is included or billed separately. Hypothetical example: an optical group budgets for a single L-1A transfer, then extends the predecessor’s involvement by a quarter, which changes the duties described in the petition and requires the role analysis to be redone.
Government charges are set by the agencies and change from time to time, so verify current amounts at the point of filing rather than carrying forward a figure from an earlier transfer. Note also that the employer’s internal relocation budget is a business matter and proves nothing about eligibility.