A charge may provide context, but the actual services and work allocation require explanation. The amount paid does not by itself establish the applicant’s managerial capacity.
Separate business accounting from immigration preparation
Clarify the evidence review, document preparation and current official charges. An intercompany invoice should be understood for what it actually establishes, not treated as proof of every claimed supporting role.
Every L-1 petition carries the base Form I-129 fee, the anti-fraud fee and, depending on the petitioner's size, an asylum-program fee; premium processing is a separate optional charge that buys a faster decision rather than a better one. Government filing charges, professional fees and dependant applications belong to the immigration budget; the lease, equipment, salaries and working capital belong to the expansion budget. Ask counsel to quote the eligibility assessment, petition preparation, premium processing if wanted, the extension petition in year one, and any response to a request for evidence as separate items, because a new-office case is more likely than an established-office case to draw questions. The petition must demonstrate the qualifying corporate relationship and the applicant’s continuous qualifying year abroad in the prior three years; for a new-office L-1A petition, that year itself must have been managerial or executive.