Mostly into accounting and evidence work: producing reliable financial statements, reconciling internal figures with filings, assembling payroll and contract records, and paying counsel to assess whether the position now supports the claim. Add the cost of any restructuring the assessment recommends, which may exceed the filing work itself.
Budget the assessment before the argument
Split the spending in two: a review of where the business stands, then the preparation itself. That order lets a weak position be strengthened, or a different plan chosen, while there is still time in the year. Ask the accountant what a compilation or review-level financial statement involves compared with the internal reports being used now, and decide which level the case warrants. Confirm official charges when each step arrives.
The petition itself carries the Form I-129 charge, additional statutory fees that depend on the employer's characteristics, and an optional premium-processing charge; check the current schedule rather than relying on figures from a previous transfer. Allow several weeks to gather corporate and payroll evidence and draft the petition, then USCIS processing time or the premium processing window, then admission at the border or a consular appointment for non-Canadian family members. Corporate evidence has to be gathered from lawyers, accountants and registries in two countries, and a group with an intermediate holding company will spend real time producing a chart that survives scrutiny.