Clarify the scope of the proposed review and whether it includes both periods. Separate professional work and official charges from the project’s operating budget. Decide first whose budget this sits in. Petition preparation is the company's undertaking and normally its expense; personal items such as document translation, civil records or a family's travel fall to the individual. An engagement letter leaving that boundary vague produces an argument later, usually at the moment a request for evidence arrives. Write the split down before either party instructs anyone.
Identify assumptions before comparing estimates
An estimate based on a short defined assignment may not cover a later indefinite role. Ask how changed duties would be handled. Spending more on the project does not establish immigration eligibility or guarantee a later approval.
Scope drives the fee more than any schedule does. A review covering only the opening assignment costs less than one covering a role that changes when the project ends, and the second is what matches the proposal actually being filed. Ask what happens if the company revises the structure mid-preparation, since redrafting a duty description and a chart is work someone will bill.
Outside advisers already engaged for tax or relocation may duplicate parts of this, and reconciling inconsistent versions is billable in itself. Confirm current government charges from the official source; they change independently of any case.