If this company’s records have gaps, obtaining records or documenting genuine current corporate decisions can involve separate professional work. Request a file-specific estimate alongside the immigration filing budget.
Budget for governance documentation separately from filing fees
Ask which existing records must be retrieved and which genuine current decisions need documentation. Keep that work separate from government charges and do not backdate records to imply past authority. Check the current fee schedule against this petitioner’s actual circumstances instead of assuming every employer pays the same amount.
Scope costs by asking first whether this is an established operation or a new office. For an initial new-office petition, the American entity need not be operating yet, but it needs secured physical premises, evidence of the size of the U.S. investment and the foreign entity's financial ability to remunerate the beneficiary and commence business, plus an L-1A plan supporting a managerial or executive role within one year. The qualifying foreign year itself must be managerial or executive. Budget separately for legitimate lease, corporate, payroll, and business-plan work, then check current government charges without stating a fixed filing figure. Backdating governance documents to avoid preparation expense is a serious, common mistake.
Hypothetical example: A dairy-automation company outside Strathroy-Caradoc proposes a new sales office for its managing director. Before pricing the immigration work, it confirms a genuine premises commitment, available launch capital, foreign financial capacity, and staged hiring. Accounting assistance for forecasts is tracked apart from petition preparation. The owners revise an unrealistic staffing plan instead of purchasing unnecessary paperwork or presenting the director's technical installation duties as future executive management.