Ask about the scope and price of reviewing existing records, any applicable retrieval charges and necessary translation. Keep these costs separate from preparing the new TN evidence. Verify current agency procedures before paying a third party to obtain material you may already possess.
Define what the paid work will answer
A records search and an admissibility assessment are different tasks. Ask what will be delivered, which uncertainties may remain and whether further advice is included. No fee or retrieval service guarantees that a later application will succeed.
Government charges depend on the route: an admission fee at the port of entry, or the I-129 filing fee if the employer petitions. Send every vendor the same document list and ask each to price translation and evaluation separately, including certified copies and corrections. A certified translation is worth paying for when documents are not in English. Translation and any credential evaluation are separate, and the college can pay the government fees. Current amounts should be read from the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055, rather than from any figure quoted elsewhere. Ask the employer in writing which of these costs it will cover, since many U.S. employers reimburse petition fees but not licensing.