The work depends on the actual evidence and legal issues, not duration alone. Clarify professional scope and current official charges.
Identify the unresolved facts
Ask whether the estimate includes authority, employment history and entity review. An urgent short assignment may still require substantial factual clarification. Do not assume a brief appointment guarantees a simpler process or approval.
Separate commercial governance advice from immigration preparation and current official fees. Confirm current government amounts on the USCIS schedule when filing, not when budgeting.
Distinguish proposing, approving and recording expenditure, and identify who performs operational tasks. The L-1A record should show the actual scope, authority and operational support rather than infer qualifying management from the number of sites listed in a presentation. The last item is a business expense that also serves as evidence of capacity. Add legal, translation and the cost of the Canadian replacement manager. A short consultation can still carry separate charges for the petition stage and the later consular stage, since Form I-129 preparation and DS-160 completion draw on different evidence. Ask whether quoted work covers only the L-1A filing or extends to visa scheduling and interview preparation for the transferee and any accompanying spouse and children. Where an existing blanket structure is available, compare its incremental cost against an individual petition, since blanket approval covers the qualifying organizations without settling each beneficiary's own case. Renewal work toward the regulatory maximum period carries its own recurring cost, separate from the initial filing, because each extension needs updated evidence of the qualifying relationship and continued employment.