Separate three budgets: capital placed at risk in the U.S. enterprise, ongoing management and operating fees, and the cost of preparing the case. Government charges should be confirmed as current at each step. No level of spending guarantees an outcome, and no return on the investment can be promised.
Price the operating agreement, not just the launch
Ask what the management company charges, whether it takes a percentage of revenue, and how the fee affects the projected margin used to discuss non-marginality. Then ask counsel for an itemized scope: eligibility review, corporate and funding documents, the visa stage, dependants and later questions. Whether a particular professional cost belongs to the business or to case preparation depends on its actual treatment and needs review.
Hypothetical example: a proficiency testing provider is offered two management structures, a flat annual fee or a share of revenue, and the two produce very different margins at the volumes the plan actually forecasts. Model both against the low case rather than the expected case, because the low case is where the non-marginality discussion becomes difficult. Ask as well what the fee covers when the operator sub-contracts part of the work, and whether the agreement lets that fee rise without the owner’s consent.
Put both answers in writing before the agreement is signed. Keep the low-case model in the file beside the plan it tests.