Separately and in writing. The US$15,000 DHS processing fee is nonrefundable and is not a professional fee; the US$1,000,000 gift follows successful vetting. Legal, tax, medical and other visa-related costs are additional. If an employer would apply under the corporate program, its 1% annual maintenance charge and 5% transfer fee need current review.
Price the review, not the outcome
Ask what the initial review costs on its own, what triggers additional fees, and what happens if the review concludes the household should not apply. A fee arrangement tied to approval sits badly with a process where vetting, visa availability and admissibility decide the result. Confirm who pays for responses to later requests for evidence.
Knowing the cost of stopping is as useful as knowing the cost of continuing, particularly before any nonrefundable payment is made. Ask specifically what happens to the fee arrangement if the review concludes the household should not proceed, since that is the outcome a good early engagement is designed to produce and it should not be the one the arrangement penalises. A fee tied to approval sits badly with a process where admissibility, an EB-1 or EB-2 determination and visa availability decide the result, none of which an adviser controls.
Establish in writing who pays for responses to later requests for evidence, since those arrive without warning and are the most common source of unbudgeted cost.