Almost everything that matters: whether the applicants appear eligible for lawful permanent residence, whether admissibility questions exist, whether an EB-1 or EB-2 determination looks plausible, and whether visa availability affects the plan. None of that requires paying the processing fee first, and a review that surfaces a serious obstacle saves a nonrefundable payment.
Bring the awkward facts first
Old refusals, arrests, overstays, medical issues and past applications are exactly what an early review needs. Withholding them produces an assessment that is comfortable and useless. Say plainly what is documented, what is remembered but unverified, and what records could be obtained.
The reviewer can then say which items are potentially decisive. That distinction — between a problem, an unknown, and a non-issue — is what makes a first consultation worth attending. It is worth naming the three questions separately, because households tend to merge them and only one is about money.
First, does the applicant independently qualify for lawful permanent residence through an EB-1 or EB-2 determination. Second, is the applicant admissible, which is decided on its own facts and is not affected by any payment. Third, is a visa available in the relevant category.
An exploratory review can form a view on all three from documents the household already holds, and doing so before the nonrefundable processing fee is paid is the entire value of having the conversation early.