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LÉVIS · L-1A FIELD GUIDE

How should a Lévis company separate the cost of an L-1A petition from the cost of the U.S. expansion?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

Government filing charges, professional fees and dependant applications belong to the immigration budget; the lease, equipment, salaries and working capital belong to the expansion budget. The USCIS fee schedule sets the government portion and should be checked at filing.

What to ask the adviser and the accountant

Ask the immigration adviser five questions before accepting a quote: does it cover an eligibility assessment before drafting, does it include the corporate evidence package, does it include premium processing if chosen, does it cover a request for evidence, and does it include the spouse's and children's applications. Ask the accountant a different set: whether the expansion budget shows the U.S. entity can pay the transferee's salary from the outset, which is evidence the petition will need, and how the cost of a new-office lease and initial hiring will be documented.

Hypothetical example: a Lévis composite-parts manufacturer budgets for the petition but not for the twelve months of financial records the extension will demand, and finds itself reconstructing them from bank statements under time pressure. Keep the two budgets on separate pages, then check where one produces evidence for the other.